Back to the list of buildings in Civ4
The Courthouse is replaced by the following unique buildings:
Strategy[]
Courthouses lower city 
Maintenance costs, provide you with a bonus to 
Espionage, and are required to build the Forbidden Palace national wonder. Courthouses help manage the cost of controlling large empires.
Courthouses also enable you to have one Spy specialist, which produces more Espionage.
Civilopedia entry[]
As kingdoms and empires expanded, it became increasingly difficult for the rulers to maintain control over the more distant regions of their realm. To ensure that the far-flung cities of the empire contributed their expected share of duties and taxes to the government, rulers constructed courthouses to help unify their domains. These local centers of government meted out justice and helped preserve order in the midst of the furthest wilderness.
See also[]
- Courthouse in other games