Justice Building

The **Justice Building** was a place in each district where official business with the Capitol was conducted. It served many purposes, including being a town hall, a foreign affairs bureau, a meeting place, and a location for public announcement. Post-Second Rebellion, it was also held a legislative assembly.

Children went to the Justice Building to sign up for tesserae, and the Reaping ceremony for the Hunger Games took place before the Justice Building. It was also where the chosen tributes were taken afterwards to bid farewell to their loved ones before being taken to the Capitol. In the Victory Tour, the victor(s) spoke to the district from the Justice Building. District citizens also went to the Justice Building to get married. They signed forms and were then assigned a house together.

## History

When Barley Mayes was reaped by Priscilla Happith for the 61st Hunger Games, she started crying before walking up to the stage.During her goodbey sessions, she talked first to her parents and brother, then to Mayor Whitaker, then to her aunt Maggie Whitaker, then to the ironsmith who lived across the street, then to her best friend Jeremy. She spent a lot of time talking to Jeremy before being ushered out by a Peacekeeper.

Katniss Everdeen and Gale Hawthorne received medals of valor when their fathers were killed in a mine explosion. On her 12th birthday, Katniss went to the Justice Building and signed up for tesserae, bringing home a batch of oil for the first time and coming back on the same day every month for more. She and Peeta Mellark were marched inside the building by Peacekeepers after being reaped and were then visited by their loved ones.

In District 11, Peeta and Katniss gave their Victory Tour speeches on the verandah of the district's Justice Building and went inside afterward. Haymitch Abernathy took Peeta and Katniss to the dome immediately after Selby Hoffman was shot for whistling Katniss and Rue's 4-note mockingjay tune, which meant safety in the 74th Hunger Games arena. Later that night, they attended an elaborate dinner in the building.

District 13's Justice Building appeared to be just "smoldering remains". It was shown frequently on television across Panem, but it was actually old footage being shown over again. Bonnie and Twill noticed the same mockingjay in the footage every time, which is what made them believe that District 13 was still operational. In the end, they were right, but they never made it to Thirteen.

After the reaping for the 75th Hunger Games, the new Head Peacekeeper Romulus Thread ushered Katniss and Peeta out the back door of the Justice Building without giving them a chance to say goodbye.

District 12's Justice Building was destroyed in the bombing of District 12. Cressida tried to film Katniss in front of the ruins, but it went badly. When bombing the Nut in District 2, Katniss and others watched from the top of the Justice Building. She went to the steps of the building upon beginning her speech.

## Description

### Districts 1-5, 8, 10

The Justice Buildings in all of these districts were located around the center of the district, where there were the most people.

### Districts 6-7

Districts 6 and 7 were the only districts to not have their Justice Buildings in the center of town. In District 6, it was originally located right next to the Noxia (the largest black market in Six). However, in 49 ATT, Peacekeeper's successful petitions allowed the Justice Building to be rebuilt in the outskirts of the district, to much backlash. Seven, on the other hand, always had its Justice Building in the same location (the forest).

### District 9

In District 9, citizens of Rye Village, the poorest area, had to walk multiple miles to make it to the Justice Building. It was constructed with large stone bricks, and it was about 200 years old. There was a wide-arched doorway at the only entrance. There was permanently a large wooden stage where officials stood when giving speeches and conducting the Reaping. Anyone who went on the stage when they were not authorized would be publicly whipped. Iron fences stood around the Justice Building as barriers for parents to stay behind during the Reaping.

### District 11

The Justice Building in District 11 was a large marble structure that must have looked beautiful when it was first constructed, but became run-down over time. There was a tiled expanse between the front doors and the stairs that was shaded by a roof and supported by columns, which Effie Trinket called the verandah. Inside the building was a curved marble staircase, with a hallway at the top. Double doors led into a room with a twenty-foot-tall ceiling and many decorations. The building was a maze of staircases and halls, with a ladder leading to the dome, which was huge and dusty.

### District 12

District 12's Justice Building had a dark and creaky elevator that moved slowly and smelled of sour milk. A temporary stage was set up for the annual reapings. The room where tributes were taken after being reaped was richer than the rest of the district, with thick carpets and a velvet couch and chairs. A bell was always rung in the Justice Building on New Year's Day.

After Romulus Thread became Head Peacekeeper, a large banner with the seal of Panem was hung off the roof of the Justice Building. The Justice Building later became "a heap of blackened rubble" after being bombed.

### District 13

District 13's Justice Building was reduced to ruins in the First Rebellion.