The Old Pondicherry Court is an 18th century French colonial public building flanked by roads on three sides. The building sits amidst a large plot, was once enclosed by a beautiful compound wall (similar to theNotre-Dame des Anges church).

The building functioned as the Court until 2008. It was built on the site of the Hotel de la Marine built in 1766; it was the Hôtel du commandant dugénie in 1788. The present building was constructed in 1870 and functioned as the Court d’appel from 1884 to 1955. The 149-year old building was refurbished and the process was started in 2016 and completed in 2019.

It is one of the most beautiful heritage buildings on the beachfront. The original building featured an arcaded ground floor and colonnaded first floor. The heritage structure includes a law museum, a library and conference-cum-research hall on the ground floor. The first floor has three suites, kitchen and dining facilities with wooden flooring.

The compound wall still has the old hexagonal pillars, but the wooden fence is now replaced by concrete jali panels. A new three-storey structure had been built abutting the Southern façade of the old building. The placement of staircases on the east and west sides had drastically changed the visual image of the façades. The restoration of this building has brought back the original architectural features of the historic building.

The building is located at the junction of three streets namely rue Dumas, rue de Bussy (Lal Bahadhur Shastri street) and Goubert Avenue. Confined to a large corner plot following the original grid iron street pattern, the old court building still has a predominant impact on the streetscape despite the unsympathetic modifications made to it along rue Dumas. It possesses a large frontage which contributes to the streetscape.