Public Space and the Power of Law: the Palace of Justice in Lviv as an Embodiment of the Idea of Justice.

This article presents an interdisciplinary study of the architecture of the Palace of Justice in Lviv as a spatial embodiment of the power and legitimacy of justice. The analysis focuses on how the architectural and artistic solutions of the building shape the symbolic representation of law, state authority, and justice. A legal approach is applied to interpret the material environment of the judicial institution as a communicative space that reflects and simultaneously forms legal meanings. Special attention is paid to the compositional logic of the building, the layout of the courtroom, and the sculptural decoration of the façade, which represent the ideas of legal order, dignity, and the rule of law. The influence of imperial architectural heritage on contemporary perceptions of the judiciary in Ukraine is examined, particularly in the context of historical memory, political aesthetics, and the demand for justice in a democratic society. The Palace of Justice in Lviv is analyzed as an example of late 19th-century imperial architectural policy, which aimed to endow institutions of public law with visual persuasiveness and ideological stability. A spatial-symbolic analysis of the court as a cultural heritage object reveals hidden meanings that continue to influence the perception of judicial authority in modern Ukrainian society. The text addresses issues of continuity in legal and visual traditions, the transformation of imperial codes in a postcolonial context, and the challenges faced by architectural representations of law in a democratic state. This approach allows for an expanded discourse on law, incorporating spatial and visual dimensions as important elements of the legitimization and functioning of legal institutions. This article may be of interest to researchers in law, philosophy, cultural studies, as well as those studying the symbolic dimension of state institutions. Keywords: law, justice, judiciary, judicial independence, legitimacy, court architecture, Supreme Regional Court, Palace of Justice, Lviv, symbolic buildings, state authority, public space, representation, judicial proceedings, political repressions, interwar period, Ukrainian liberation movement.