Commissioned by the former Department for Constitutional Affairs (now the Ministry of Justice), the building was funded as a Public–private partnership and is the centrepiece of the Spinningfields development.

The building opened to widespread acclaim for its expressionist dynamism, environmental credentials and high-quality design.

It was nominated for RIBA's Stirling Prize in 2007 and named one of the "Best British buildings of the 21st century" by Blueprint magazine in 2011.

In August 2002, the design proposal from Australian architects Denton Corker Marshall with engineers Mott MacDonald was announced as the winner.

[4] On 18 January 2007, during the Kyrill storm, several pieces of aluminium cladding were blown off the building during the construction process - one struck a woman walking along Bridge Street.

The architect's intention was to originally siphon water from the River Irwell nearby but upon discovering an aquifer beneath the building, engineers considered this a more reliable option.

[15] The Civil Justice Centre has been well received by architecture critics who have praised its striking aesthetics, environmental credentials and structural quality.

[18] Blueprint magazine editor Peter Kelly believed the Civil Justice Centre was symbolic of Manchester's renaissance since the 1996 bombing, describing it as "a civic facility of true excellence, the courts building is regarded as a symbol of the city’s global significance".

With its assemblage of cantilevered structures that extend beyond its normal footprint and its astute use of colour, the MCJC’s presence in the city is imposing and unmistakable.

Yet this building is in the centre of the city, and it offers not a provincial reflection of a distant metropolitan original but a sophisticated, confident model for what a contemporary and urbane public institution can be.

[20]RIBA described the structure as "an elegant and beautifully executed response to a complex brief that has made a significant contribution to the regeneration of this part of Manchester.