the application of islamic law in the ottoman

8/9/2019 The Application of Islamic Law in the Ottoman

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Shari ah Courts and Shari ah Records: The Application of Islamic Law in the Ottoman StateAuthor(s): Ahmed AkgündüzSource: Islamic Law and Society, Vol. 16, No. 2 (2009), pp. 202-230Published by: BRILLStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40377991 .Accessed: 21/02/2015 03:04

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matters nd where itigants ould call on them t any time. Suchan officemight e in the qadis home, room n a mosqueor in amadrasah}

Although here ere ome fluctuations uring heOttoman eriod,the shaikhulislam as the head and competent uthority f theulama class and the judicial organization. adis solicited fatwasfrom muftis, f which there were two categories: 1) the centralmufti, he head of the ulama class,viz. the shaikhulislam nd (2)

provincialmuftis.1 he shaikhulislam ad no specific fficebuildinguntil 1241/1826. When Mahmud II (1808-1839) abolished theJanissary orps, the Janissaries' ffice f Agha was transformedinto the office f the shaikhulislam, hich became known asFatwakhanah l-Ali?

The head of the udiciary nd second ank f the menofknowledge(rijal ilmiyyah) fter he shaikhulislam as the qadaskar.He was amember f the mperial ouncil Diwanal-Humayun) ith respon-sibility or udicial matters, specially he Islamic and legal affairs

of the military lass. He also appointed adis to principalities ndsanjaqs.4 heqadaskarwas a member f the mperial ouncil,whichhe attended n appointed days. At the Council some cases werebrought efore heqadaskar f Rumelia. Unlessvestedwith pecialauthority, he Anatolian qadaskardid not have any authority ohear cases.Still, he examination f legal ssues t the Council wasone of the qadaskar responsibilities.5he significance f the officeof the qadaskar nd its functions egan to decline n the wake ofAbdulmajidspolitical reforms, hich were nitiated n 1839. Theauthority f the qadaskar ecreased owards heend of the Ottomanperiod.The shaikhulislam ntered heCabinet,but the qadaskarwasexcluded rom t.6

1}Hezarfen, alkhisl-Beyan, oc. 135/A f.; rgin,Majalla-iUmur, :265ff.; aydan,Nizam l-Qadha, 17-20;Uzuncar§ih, smanh evletininlmiye eskilati,08ff.2)Hezarfen, alkhisl-Beyan, oc. 133/B f.; avqiiQanunnamesi, TM,1:541.3)AliHaydar, urar l-Hukkam,:715-16;lmiye alndmesi,40-52;Uzuncar§ili,lmiye,208ff.; umcu/Ucok,22-26.4)Hezarfen, alkhisl-Beyan, oc. 139/B f.5)TavqiiQanunnamesUTM,1:508-09,40.6)Nizamnamahl-Tawjihatl-Manasibl-Qadha, ated 71 Dustur. . Tertib. /3 5-20;Hukkaml-Shar( aMemurin l-SharHyyahanun l-Muwaqqat,ated 331,Dustur. I.

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The person who carries ut judicial tasks n the SharVah ourtsis calledqadi. The verb qada> iterally to cut" or "to divide", ameto signify to judge." Ottoman urists efined qadi as a personappointed by the highest fficial f the state the Sultanor one ofhis deputies) odecide ases or disputes mong hepeople ccordingto the Sharicah. he qadi also was known as the hakim or thehakirnul-shar(. dministratively,heOttoman tatewas divided ntoprovinces alledeyalets, iwahs, adas, nahiyahs, nd koeysvillages)

in descending rder. Each judicial center had a qadi who servednot only as judge but also as mayor nd chief f police.At times,he functioned s the administrative ead and was in charge ofsecurity.7 he tasks nd functions f the qadi can be summarizedas follows: o implement hari'ah njunctions; overify hedisputedviews f the Hanafi chool, pplying eliable olutions; oformulateShari'ah udgments; omarryminorswho have no guardian f theirown; to safeguard heproperty f orphans nd paupers; o appointor dismiss uardians; o supervise haritable oundations nd theiraccounts; o formulate arriage ontracts, nd to execute equests.Although e executed ecrees nd instructions, e did not nterferein the political r administrative ffairs f the state,whichwere eftto administrative upervisors ulul-emr).s

In addition to the Sharicah ourts, various administrative ndjudicialcourtswere stablished n 1284/1867.Theirfunctions ererestricted ocertain ields. ccording othe regulations alledNizam-namah l-Diwan al-Ahkam l-Adliyyah,ssued n 1284/1867, rimes

committed gainst he family, ndowments, r individuals, s wellas ta'zir crimes nd their penalties-in ddition to law-cases-wereremoved rom he urisdiction f the Shari'ah ourts. According oa similar egulation, alledNizamnamah l-Shura l-Dawlah, ome

Tertib. /352 ff. rticle: .7;Nizamname-iakhili, dated 332/1914, ustur. I. TertibVI/184;AliHaydar, urer, :705; Salnamahl-Ilmiyyah,54,318;Uzuncar§ih,miye,160ff.7)Majallah, Article 1784-1785; Ali Haydar, Durar al-Hukkam, :657ff.8) TavqiiQanunnamesi, TM>1/54 Qanuni QanunnamesU TM>1 326-27; Uzuncar§ih,Ilmiye, 3ff.




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functions f the Sharicah ourts were bolished ntirely.9 hen theregulations f 1286/1870 stablished heNizamiyyah ourts, certainjudicialdualismdeveloped n the Department f Justice.10

2. LegalGuidelines orPreserving ecords

Shari'ah ecords erepreserved etter n the Ottoman tate han notherMuslim tates. here re20,000Sharicah ecord ooks sicill&t-isha/iyyah) or he stanbul hari'ah ourts lone.

To preserve he Sharicah ecords, he Ottoman state adoptedpolicies nd plans that were reinforced y laws,decrees nd localorders. he first aw, legaldecree f Sultan Bayezid (1389-1403),contained ules bout writing nd preserving egaldocuments ndregistrations ssuedby qadis, as well as the fees charged or theseservices. s mentioned n the law: "In the time of Bayezid theqadis of the provinceswere ordered not only to charge fees on

hujjah registrations hujjet kcesi),n the division f estates resm-i

qismet) nd other kinds of registrations sicil akcesi)but also topreserve heserecords. his was enacted s a law in 796/1394."11

Article 9 of Sultan Mehmed Us (1451-1481)Public OttomanLegalCode concerns he Shari'ah records nd their espective ees.It states: Alludges qadis,)hould eceive2 akchas or ny egistrationin the sharHyyahecords nd for hujjah documents; 2 akchasforgiving ne copyof these ha/iyyah ecords to the plaintiff nd thedefendant), nd 12 akchasfor igning ny sha/iyyah ecord." his

article ssumes hat ll udgesmust record fficial ocuments n thesha/iyyah ecords nd givecopies to the litigants, f demanded rneeded. n explaining he function f the udge, the main OttomanLegalCodementions san official ask, mong ther hings, recordingSharicah ecords nd judicialdocuments ketb-i ijillatvesukuk)."11

9)Nizamname, ated 284calledNizamnamahl-Diwan l-Ahkaml-Adliyyah,ustur.I. Tertib /325 t seq:,Article-2; izamname, ated1284 calledNizamnamahl-Shuraal-Dawlah, ustur. . Tertib /703ff.10)Dustur, . Tertib /328ff.n) Qanun-i edid,Milli Tetebbular ecmuasiMTM),1:326.12)Akgunduz, smanli anunn&meleri,. ; Qanun-iCedid,Milli Tetebbular ecmuasi(MTM),2.541,TheSttleymaniyeibrary, urhan alide ultan, o.326,155/a.




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After he reign f Mehmed I, new egalguidelines bout the regis-tration f shar'iyyah ecords ere nacted ythe Ottoman uthorities.These egal guidelines ere alled Qanunndme-i usum LegalCodefor Sharicah ourt Fees).13

What happened f omeone emoved shar'i ecord ook or failedto document legal issue in the Sharicah ecords? n the PublicLegalCode enacted by Bayezid I, Article 138 stipulates: If thejudge s removed rom is position, e is to hand over he Sharicah

record ook to the next udge. f he leaves without anding t over,he is to be urged to submit the book so that the affairs f thepeopleare not harmed." n a legalcode dated 915/1510, Articletakes up the second ssue: "You,as a judge, should register copyof these guidelines n the Sharicah ecords. e careful ot to losethis book Obey these rules ll the time After xamining his ode,the min official ecord eeper)sto preserve his ocument.Whoeverbecomes he emin s required o preserve he Shari'ah records."14The Tanzimat eforms 1839-1876)includednew arrangements or

the writing nd preservation f Shari'ah records. n 1296/1878,Ta'limat l-Saniyyah stablished olidprinciples or he rrangementand preservation rocedures f decrees i'lams)and deeds hujjahs).The Shari'ah ecords sijil l-shar'iyyah) onstitute hemost mportantsourcefor n accurate nderstanding f the Ottoman egalorder.

3. Description f the Shariah Records nd the Types fDocuments

3.1. Sijil,Mahdar nd Sakk

Three erms re essential.

1 The word mahdar, iterally presence" r "being present," astwo technical meanings: a) It refers o the record of a legalcase-that s, the written eclarations y the parties regardingallegations nd proofs hatwererecorded y the qadi as an aide-

13)Qanunndme,urkish anuscripts, o.1807, 8a-b.14)Akgiindiiz, smanli anunndmeleri,:141.




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memoire. he term mahdar s used with this meaning n fiqhbooks15n chapters n "kitab l-mahadir wal-sijillat," here heterm s used as a synonym or records."16b) Theword mahdaralso refers o the statements f witnesses nd to the signaturesof, mainly, he subashi chief of police), chawush sergeant rguard) and muhdir court process-server) ho were present tthe decision sessionswith experts. hese statements ere for-mulated n a written ext rranged n such a way as to confirm

the accuracy f the document. ccasionally, ritten estimonialswere called mahdars,which would then be treated s evidence(hujjah).The term mahdarwas used frequently n the Sharicahrecords n this second sense, signifying he judicial investiga-tion.17

2 The word ijil, iterally to read, o record, r to decide," s usedas a technical erm to refer o legal registers ontaining egalcases involving eople, copies of qadis' judgments, long withthe diverse ritten ecords elating o a judgment. hey re calledsijillat al-shar'iyyah, adis1 registers, ourt Books, Minutes ofCases{sijill l-zabt l-waqaH*)r Register f Sijillat.Judgments,deeds nd documents ssuedby the Shari(ah ourtswere ecordedin these egistersn strict onformity ith heir riginals. judgekept a record book at the court to record ll judgments nddeeds for protection gainst falsification.18uch registers ereusually 0 cm high nd 16-17cm wide, lthough hesizevariedfrom ourt to court nd, sometimes, rom udge to judge. The

scriptwasmost ften

a'liq aPersian

tylef

writing).he

paperwasstrong nd bright, nd the nk has maintained ts dark oloruntil hepresent ime.The names f the qadisare found n theseregisters. pon assuming ffice, he first hing qadi did was

15)Jurjani, l-Ta'rifat, 82; Al-Fatawa al-Hindiyyah, :160ff. Damad, Majma al-Anhur,2:559.16)Al-Fatawa l- Hindiyyah, :l60ff.; Damad, Majma al-Anhur, :559.17)Al-Munjidy 139; Mutarjim Asim, Qamus al-Oqyanus, 2:262; Ali Haydar, Durar

al-Hukkam, :7 IS.18)Al-Munjidy 22; Bayindir, ; Sijillat al-Shar'iyyah nd Zabt al-Da'awi, dated 15 Dhil-hijjah 1290, Article ff.; Dustur, 1.Tertib, :83-85; Majallah, Article 1814; Uzuncar§ih,llmiye, 16.




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to write on the first age of the sijil his name, title, nd thedate on which he took office; e also confirmed is obligationto deliver he sijil to his successor, ither ersonally r throughhis agent. f he did not deliver issijil by himself, is successorwould ask him to do so. A qadi purchased he register ith hisown money, r with fees ollected rom igitants.19his did notin any way affect is obligation o produce the register t theright moment.

3 Allwritten ocuments n the records ere rranged nd recordedin the akk l-shar'i tyle, hichvaried rom udgeto udge.Sakkis the Arabic quivalent f the Persian hek, iterally atent, eedor title eed-in hort, written ocument. As a technical ermit expresseshewriting tyle sed n the formulation nd recordingofSharicahourt ocuments. akkbooks ontain writing pecimensthat llustrate heformulation nd writing tyle f all documents,particularly udicial decrees nd deeds. Thus, the formulation fdocuments n the Shari'ah records was based on regular nd

consistent models. Esteemed qadis compiled sakk models fordifferent ssues n order o facilitate heqadis task. The records,in general, onform othesemodels.Fiqhbooks, alled l-Shurutand Kitabul-Mahadir wal-Sijillat, discuss written rocedures.Ottoman haricah ourts ranslated tandardized ritten roceduresinto the Turkish anguage.From the reign of Othman untilthat of Mehmed I, the style orformulating ocumentswas amixture f Arabic nd Turkish. t the end of 17th entury akkbooks ame o bewritten

xclusivelynTurkish,

herebyontributingto terminological onsistency n the Sharicah ecords.20

3.2. General eaturesof the SharVahRecords nd Developmentsfter heTanzimat Reforms

Not all caseproceedings eard n the haricah ourtswere ntered ntothe records. he Sharicah ecords o not resemble heminutes f amodern ourt.

19)Majallah,Article 814;MiHaydar, urar l-Hukkam,:717,720;Uzuncar§ih. lku,366;flmiye, 16.20)Al-Fatawaal-Hindiyyah, :l60ff.; Bayindir, slamMuhdkeme ukuku, 1-2.




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With the exception f endowment eeds waqfiyyat),herecords,especiallyn old record ooks,generally o not exceedhalf pagein length nd, in most cases, nywhere rom ive o eight asesarerecorded n a singlepage. The oldest ijik are small, narrow ndtall so that heywould fit nto the pocket f a qadi'scloak.Recordbook number /1 of Mahkamah l-Bab a lower ourt n Istanbul),containing udicialdecrees nd deeds written fter 076/1665,has146 pages, s 41 x 15 cm, written n ta'liq style, with finished,

watermarked aper, nd boundwith cover f marbled aper ebru).Entry umber /2 of the Court of Inspectors or mperial states,which ontains he records f endowments rom 44/1540 to 949/1542, is 32 x 11 cm, written n several tyles,mostly a'liq; thepaper s of a normal hickness, hite, finished, nd watermarked;it has 264 pagesand is bound with a marbled paper, has a backcover nd borders n leather, nd the records re mostly n Arabic.The early Shari'ah record books generally ad the same features.After he Tanzimat Reforms, udicial decrees nd Sharicah ourt

records ecame onger nd, accordingly, he record ooks grew nsize.They ncluded henames nd addresses f personswho testifiedto the credibility f witnesses nd explained he rationale f thejudgments n greater etail.21

Every egister eginswith dibajahor preface, sually n Arabic,offering raise or he Shari'ah ecrees nd for God and His Prophet.The name and title f the udgewho kept he record ollow. ften,the ppointment rder f the udgewhokept herecord smentioned,

usuallyt the

beginningf the

register.henever ne

qadi replacedanother, hedibajahwas changed. or example, n Sharicah ecordnumber 27 (Isparta 150/1737), hedibajahof Omar Effendi, heqadi of Isparta, s followed y the expression Ya Fattah,"whichoccurs t the beginning f most records. he expression s repeatedfour imes, fter hich hefollowing ouplet ppears: If thousandsof such books are bound, the Shari'ah of Ahmed will not expireuntil Doom'sDay."

21)stanbul's ffice fMufti, rchivesfSharVah ecords-,ayindir,slamMuhdkemeu-kuku, :273-81; AliHaydar, urar l-Hukkam, :71ff.; stanbul ijilleri -334/11-12;Uluborluhar'iyyahijilleri, o.A27 (KonyaMuseum).




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Next, we find heqadi'sseal and the appointment ecrees ignedby Abdurrahman ffendi, he Anatolian qadaskar. n all Shari'ahrecords he signature nd seal of the qadi appear together. akkbooks providemodelsof signatures nd seals.22

The courts were required o keep records. ecausea qadi oftengavea copy of a judicial decreeor deed to other uthorities, hepossibility f forgery as alwayspresent. f the qadi recorded isjudicialdecrees, eeds, nd official etters n a register, ewouldbe

able to refer o them f necessary. espite diligent fforts oprotectthe Shari'ah records, most were lost over time. The number ofSharicah ecords hat urvive n Turkey oday s small n comparisonto the total number hat existed n the past.23

A number f urists eldthat fficial ntries n the records houldbe grouped ccording o subject. n practice, urists grouped herecords ccording o other riteria, uch as the type of document(see below). For instance, ne jurist made the following roposal.The Sharicah ecords houldbe divided nto four ategories: a) theappointment f a guardian nazir); (b) the appointment f thetrustee mutawalli) f a pious endowment; c) the determination falimony; nd (d) judicialdecrees ontaining udgments. t was con-venient o preserve herecords ccording o these r similar ategoriesin order to ensure asy reference. lthough hesecategorieswereused n keeping herecords n Istanbul ourts, nother methodwasused n theOttoman rovinces, here ecords ere rganizedccordingto both subject nd chronology.24

The Tanzimat eforms ffected otonly

the Sharicah ourts butalso the Shari'ah records. he Regulation f 13 Safar 1276/1859refers ndirectly o the Sharicah ecords s well as to the fees o becharged. n order ated 15Dhilhijjah 290/1874ntroducesmportantregulations egarding he Sharicah ecords. ccording o these egalregulations, ll court records, oth n Istanbul nd in the provinces,

22)KonyaMuseum,sparta ijiUeri, 27, 100-01;Debbaghzadah,ami'us-Sakk,80ff.,402ff.

23)AliHaydar, urar l-Hukkam,:717 f.; ayindir,slamMuhdkemeukuku, .24)AliHaydar, urar l-Hukkam, :718; stanbul ijiUeri, -65, 6, 97, 106,135,334,Uskudar ijiUeri, -802 (Booksof Orders nd Rescripts); asimpasa ijiUeri 6-465(Petitions); ayindir,slamMuhdkemeukuku, 73ff.




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were obe numbered rom he first ageto the ast Article ). Theoriginal opy of written ocuments ssued by the Sharicah ourtswere to be entered nto the register nd stampedwith the specialseal of the Registrar muqayyid fendi) Article ). Since recordswould be referred o and used when necessary, hewriting ad tobe legible,without ny erasure r scraping, nd there houldbe nointerlinear nsertions; f there were, he qadi was to sign and thenseal the record Articles -4). Every haricah ourt should have a

specialchest for protecting he records; he chest was to be sealedevery vening y the registrar fter he records ad been deposited.When the qadi's term of office was over, he was to certify heregisters ith his private eal.25

On 4 Jumadha l-Ula 1296/1879, he Order of the Arrangementof the Sharicah ecords aspublished o define ow Sharicah ourtsshould keep udicial decrees nd deeds. Theserecordsmight erveas reliable vidence n court, making t possible o render judgmentif there was no other proof.26

3.3. Types fLegalDocuments n the Shari ah Records

In the haricah egisters, ritten ecords all nto womain ategories:(1)records repared nd written yqadis, .g.,deeds, udicialdecrees,petitions, nd udges' etters f appointment or heir eputies; nd(2) decrees, rders f appointment, nstructions nd decrees ot pre-pared yqadisbut entered nto he registers ecause heywere ent oqadis.

3.3.1. Documents ritten yQadisThe sakk l-shar'i ooks explaindifferent ypes f documents o beincluded nthis ategory, hich over most f he ntries n the hari'ahregisters.27

25)Dustur, , Tertib, :301-314,sp.Articles 9-53;Dustur, , Tertib, :83-85;Order fShari'ah ecords, ated 290,Articles -18,Dustur, ,Tertib, :83-5.26)Akgiindiiz, ukayeselislam e Osmanli ukuku ulliydti,74-82;Dustur . Tertib,4:79-84;BOA,Irade-Hususi. rivate ile of Majallah,no. 517. Ali Haydar,Duraral-Hukkam,: 81,719ff.27)See,for xample zuncar§ih,lmiye, 08.




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Hujjahs (Deeds)and their eaturesTheterm ujjahmeans proof," .e.something hat stablisheshat nacthasbeenproven. n Ottoman egal erminologythastwomeanings.First, t is associatedwith egalproofs n a law case (i.e.,witnessing,acknowledgment, ath or abstention rom ath), n which ase it issynonymous ith eyyinah.econd, hujjah earing he eal nd igna-ture f the qadi (at the op) s a document hat utlines he egal ase,including heacknowledgementnd approval f the itigants. n thepost-Tanzimat eriod, he term hujjah deed)was replaced y senedwith he result hat hujjahs ameto be called enedat l-shar'iyyah.28npublicusage, ny document earing he ignature nd seal of a judgeat the op,whether ornot) t contains udgment, s known s a hujjah.Therecords n the PrimeMinisterial rchives re thus hujjahs.

The majority f the records n the Shar'iyyah egisters re hujjahdeeds.Thedifferent ypes f hujjahs hat re ncluded n the registersand the features f each type are as follows: irst, ny legal case

that wassettledwith definite roof bayyinah hujjah)would notbe transferred o the ourt.When the court rranged hujjah deed),presented t to the litigants, nd registered copy in the register,there suallywas no legaldisputewith regard o the ssue at stake.In case of a dispute, he court would issue a judgment n behalfof the party hat held the hujjah.A hujjah ssued t the Shar'iyyahcourtwas ike judgment gainst heplaintiff oncerning herelevantlegalmatter. hujjah tating hat house had been purchasedwasdefinite roof that might be used in a lawsuit filed against theperson who sold the house.

Thedecisionwas recorded n the court egister or uture eferenceand hence as the main hujjah. Copieswere ssuedto litigants horequired hem.At the top of the hujjah delivered o the litigantsare found he signature nd seal of the presiding adi. This is nottrue of hujjahs n the registers, here judge's ignature, eal and

28)Majallah,Article 676;AliHaydar, urar l-Hukkam, :367,718; Bilmen, ukuk-iIsldmiye,:118;Compare: zuncar§ih, miye, 08;Bayindir,slamMuhdkeme ukuku,12;Regulationsor haricah ourts, ated 276,Articles 5ff., 7ff.; enedatl-Shar'iyyh,dated 96,Articles 6ff.




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the date on which he beganhis office re found nly t the top ofthe record r at the top of the entry egistered y the udge on thedate of his appointment. ometimes he qadi's signature s foundat the top of the copy of hujjah entry n the registers.

How is a hujjah formulated? enerally, hujjah beginswith thename of the city n which the court ssuing he hujjah s located,qualified y the word mahrusah> ahmiyah, r madinah: uch as"... subject o the town of Kabatash, f al-Galata l-Mahrusah ..,"

"... in the quarter f Bakir Pasha in Mahmiyah l-Istanbul ..,""... in Madinah al-Erzurum .."; or in hujjahsof estimation ndexamination: for xamining nd investigating he ssueto be men-tioned on the spot ..."; or "for he investigation nd estimationof the matter o be declared t the locality hereof .."; or "it isthat ..", "the reasonfor he nvestigation f the book is that ..","the reasonfor he nvestigation f the etters s that ..".

Additional nformation ollows hese ntroductory xpressions rprologue:29

1 The names and addresses f the itigants re recorded n sucha way as to remove ll ambiguity.

2 The definition f the commodity r right hat s the object ofthe hujjah.

3 A declaration egardinghemanner, onditions nd-if ny-deliveryand receipt f a legalprocedure.

4 A declaration hat he consenting arty cquitted heopposing

party nd will not make the ame ssue the cause of any furtherlawsuit r dispute.5 The year, month, ay and, sometimes, imeof day.6 The names nd the titles f the witnesses ppear t the bottom,

under the rubric f shuhud l-hal (witnesses o the law case)or shuhud l-mahdar. or instance, f a hujjah records con-tract f purchase, he namesof the vendor nd purchaser, hefeatures f the property old, the declarations f offer nd

29)Debbaghzade,ami'usSakk,-188, 160ff.; eshiktashijilleri, 3-127/137, 41-42;B23-127/118; zunsar^ih,lmiye, 16-17;Dustur, .Tertib, :30ff.




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acceptance, rice and qualities,delivery nd receipt, re alsoindicated.30

The following ocument, n Turkish, art of which s translated, sa hujjah for contract f sale {bef-i qati) arranged y the GalataCourt:31

Theperson alledMehmed min, on of Omar,who ives n thevillage f

Kuruce§me,ffiliated ith he own f

Be§ikta§,f the

nahiyahf

Galata,cameup nthemost llustriousharicahourt, ogether ith he youngmancalled Javu§zade ehmed min, onof smail, nd they poke, making hefollowing eclaration f offer allofwhose lements re egally omplete).HereMehmed min inOmer pecifieshe ropertiese s ellingoMehmedEmin in smail. e has eceived hem nder he ame onditions sdescribed,and have received rom im hefull rice hereof, 00 qurush, hich ehasdeliverednfull. he forementionedousewas ransferredothe wn-ership f the forementioned urchaser. ccordingly, e can use t as hewishes. fter hese eclarationsf consent ere ertified ythe ourt, hecasewasentered nto herecords

ponrequest.1 Shawwal, 169/1756.

Witnesses:

IsmailUsta Mason) onofMehmed, hemason f thevillage,Seyyid ussain ffendi onof mam Mehmed ffendi,Hammami anitor ussain,HajMustafa on of Mehmed,Abdullah helebi he Muhdhir a court ummoner),Mustafa ffendi onofMuazzinAli,DarwishMehmed on of

Ahmed,BoliikMehmed ey on of Ali,Hammami li Beshe sonofMustafa),AliAgha on of Musa,Andthe thers

30)AliHaydar, iirer, :718-19;ayindir,sldm uhdkemeukuku,2ff.31)BeshiktashSijilleri, 3-1271 1 1 .




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TheSubjects nd Some Types f Deeds

Somedeeds re arranged ccording osubjectmatter. et us consider

themost ignificant. he main ubjects ncludemarriage ontracts, hemarriage f a minor y either ts parent r a qadi, the execution f awoman'smarriage ontract y a proxy, r the validity f a marriage




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contract; ujjahof divorce hujjah al-talaq)> n irrevocable ivorce(talaqal-ba'in); ivorce ymutual onsent hujjah l-mukhaldd), henullification f a marriage faskh l-nikah), owry hujjah l-mahr),alimony, hild uardianshiphujjah l-hadanah), woman's ppointingof a trustee, anumitting laves itq, tadbir, mukatabah), iving er-mission nd authority, ontracts f sale,cession f property hujjahal-faragh), ale with power f redemption bey1l-wafa), ight f pre-emption hujjah l-shufah), etaliationqisas),bloodmoney diyah),

settlement sulh), cquittal ibrah) and bankruptcy iflas); nd ap-pointment f officers uchas kathhuda civil hief) r subashi policechief).32

One type of hujjah s sui generis: he waqfiyyah r endowmentdeed. It differs rom ther hujjahswith respect o both style ndcontent. A waqfiyyah s a written ocument oncernedwith thelegal tatus f a person endowment waqfi nd thewritten ocumentcertified y a Sharicah ourt t the end of a hypothetical aw case.Thesewritten ocuments iffer rom ther hujjahsnot onlybecauseof their tatus nd nature ut also because f their orm nd content.Apart from he general ualities f hujjahs, .waqfiyyahontainsdibajah that varies n form rom ne founder o the next.33

Al-hujjah l-zahriyyah efers o declarations, rders nd footnoteswritten r put on the back of official ocuments. or nstance, neside of the document may contain the sultans decree,while theother side is the certified opy of the hujjah that was preparedaccordingly.

Judicial ecrees: Definition nd ArrangementJudicial ecreesi'lamat) re imilar o contemporary ourt udgments.Theterm 'lam means to nform." s a technical erm, lam efers o

32)Debbaghzadeami'us-Sakk,-188; 1;AliHaydar, urer, :718, Bayindir,sldmMuhd-

kemeHukuku,2ff.

33)Akgunduz,slamHukukunda e Osmanli atbikatinda akif iiessesesi;ahakim-iShar'iyya izamnamesi,ated 276,Articles 5-20;Debbaghzade,ami'us-Sakk,89-220;KonyaMuseum, urdurs har'iyyahecords,harHyyahijilleri, 25,p. 214.




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a written ocument ontaining Sharicah ecree, t the bottom fwhich ne finds hesignature nd seal of the udge who issued thejudgment. ach Vlam ocument ontains heplaintiffs llegation swell as supporting vidence, he defendant's eply nd, in case ofrefutation, hereasons or uch refutation, ollowedt the nd by therationale or he udgment. he most ignificant eature istinguishingi'lamdocuments rom ther ntries n the ourt ecordss the udge'sverdict. nydocument hat ontains judge verdict s an Vlam ot

hujjah deed), maWuzpetition) r anything lse. n popular usage,anydocument earing qadi's ignature nd seal,whether t containsa judgment r not, s known s an i'lam. n the Prime MinisterialArchives, petition made by any state official, ike a qadi, is oftenregistered s an Vlam.

Ajudgewho served n the Sharicahourtwould ssuehis udgmentaccording o the Shari'ah rules, based on the case file. First, heinforms oth parties f his decree rally. e then drafts documentcontaining herationale or he udgment, copyofwhich s handedover o both he plaintiff nd-if necessary-the efendant. he decisionis entered nto the registers s the main proof.When a judge draftsa decree,he must tudy he minutes f the case and demonstratediligence, o that the decreewill not contradict he records f thecase file. The Instruction Ta'limat l-Saniyyah) ated 1296/1878introduced ounder principles or the drafting f decrees i(lams)and deeds hujjahs) o assure heir eliabilitys definite roofs. uchprinciples erved s guidelineswhereby azettes r minutes f law

cases, ncluding ll records elating o judicialprocedure, erepre-served.Before decree was issued, a draft ecree was written naccordance ith he ssentials f akk l-shar'i, asedon the minutesof the case as recorded n the gazette.Although t was possible oamend omestatements n the copiesof the minutes whilewritingthe draft, o amendment ltering hecourse f the case wasallowed.After he scribehad written he draft ecree, t would be checkedby the two qadaskars f Rumelia nd Anatolia, atib l-waqayi(theclerk who kept a register f events), he reis l-awwal the headchief) and the head clerk. The draft would then be submitted othe udge. After is examination nd approval f the draft, oththe scribe nd the officials oncernedwould examine t one last




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time and sign the back of it. Upon this final crutiny, he udgewouldenter he decree nto the register. he same procedure ppliedto hujjahs.34

Judicial ecrees:Features, ypes nd Models

A judicialdecreedrafted n a Sharicah ourt has the following asicfeatures.

1 The udge's ignature nd seal,placedat the bottom. he udgesigns the decreeby writing is name and patronymic. sealcontains he udge'sname, his father's ame,and sometimesshort upplication. hese rules were used when a judge signedhis name at the beginning f the register.35 lassical tatementson signatures nd seals are found n books on sakk l-shar'i.

2 A description f the litigants nd the location of the lawsuit

are similar o that f a hujjah. n a judicialdecree,wefind irst

the plaintiffs ddress, ame and father's ame. f the plaintiffis from nother istrict, ishometown s ndicated. e isexpectedto state he reasons why he is visiting he ocality n which hetrial s held, and to specify is current ddress. As for thedefendant, is name and title s well as his father's ame areregistered. ften, his address s not mentioned. n this respect,a judicialdecree s similar o a hujjah.

3 The claim, .e. the subject matter f the case, stated n full.Statements y the plaintiff, oted in the minutes, must beexamined; ny repetitions r statements ot relevant o thedecision re deleted nd the allegations nd statements ade

34)Mahakim-i ha/iyya izamnamesi,ated1276/1859, rticle 7 "Shar'iyyabecreesConsisting f Decrees"; li Haydar, urar l-Hukkam, :718;Majallah,Article 827;Bayindir,sldm uhdkemeukuku, ;Uzuncar§ih,miye,08;Debbaghzade,ami'us-Sakk,223ff.; ajallah, rticle 827;AliHaydar, urar l-Hukkam,:764-68;Nizamname,ated

1296,Article 2,13-25.35)Nizamname,ated 296,Article 5:AliHaydar, urar l-Hukkam,:718;Debbaghzade,Jami'us-Sakk 80ff.; ayindir, sldmMuhdkeme ukuku, -4, 231;Shar(iyyahecordsArchivesf stanbul's ffice ufti, he ook fApplicationeals, o.7, Doc.4b.




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by the plaintiff n several essionsmust be integrated. his partof a judicial decree contains the allegations f the plaintiff,without ny omission r addition.36

4 The defendants esponse. defendant ither ccepts r rejectsthe plaintiffs llegation r files counterclaimdefi*).he udicialdecree i'lam) specifieswhich choice is made. If a defendantdenies an allegation, his s specified y formulations uch as"after he question .." {gibbes-sual..), or "after ejection .."

(aqibal-inkar ..). A defendant may partly ccept and partlyreject n allegation, n which case the decree tates ... afterthe question hedefendant n his aforementioned eply ccepted... and rejected ..." Alternatively, defendantmay accept theplaintiffs llegation,n which asethe decree pecifies isconsentverbatim. inally, hedefendant aybring counterclaimdefi*),in which asethe udicialdecree efers othe counterclaim itha formula ike "... [the defendant] made a counterclaim ystating n his aforementioned eply .. in the course of hisresponse nd after is rejection f accusations."37

5 The rationale or judicial ecree. proof, .e. evidence upportingthe allegation, s usually equired n a judicialdecree, s in thestatement: ... when, fter he uestion nd following isrejection,the aforementioned laintiff as asked to present vidence nconformity ith his allegations ..."

6 The acknowledgement. he acknowledgement f a defendant srecorded ord-for-word, s in the followingmodelformulation:

"after he uestion the efendant]... in hisresponsecknowledgedthat the case is as the plaintiff as stated."387 Written roof. he udge must ranscribe erbatim ny written

proofs n the judicial decree, except for written roofs notrelevant o the case.In some udicial decrees, ne finds fatwa

36)Themain ource or his nformation s the 'lams nregisters. e have aken nly neexample f n Vlam t the nd of hese xplanations.37)AliHaydar, urar l-Hukkam,:769;Bayindir, -7;Mahkamahl-Bab alower ourtin stanbul), -96137, 5, 12538)"gibbes-sualerkum cevabindafi'l-hakikaaziyyeil-cumle udde-i ezkurun akrir-imesruhu 'zre lub oldugunai tavihi krar e tiraf tmegun.."




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(judicial opinion) or legaldecrees hat formed he basis of thejudgment.

8 Witnessing.n the 14th nd 15th enturies, hename, ex, eligiousaffiliation, nd address f the witnesses re recorded n decrees.It is noted hat he witnesses new he defendant; hewitnessingdeclarations re recorded erbatim. n decrees, hesematters regiven more emphasis. After dentifying he witnesses, itheropenly or secretly, n terms of their ocial background nd

character, hecriminal ecord f those who attested o(tazkiyah)thewitnesses'redibilitys described nd recorded.39n 1283/1866,SultanAbdulAzizsent rescript firman) oqadisso that hosepersonswho, either penly r secretly, stablished hecharacter,and significant vents nd incidents n the early ife f witnessesshould be recorded n the records.

9 Theoath (qasarn) r abstention rom ath nukut). n a judicialdecree judge must tate he oath he proposed, o assure hatit was administered n conformity ith the regulations;defendant taking n oath or abstaining rom t could not forma basisfor he udgment. he religious ffiliation f the plaintiffand/or hedefendant layed significant ole n the formulationof his oath. Litigants ere sked to swear n oath according otheir eligious ffiliation. ourt records ndicate hat verybodytook the oath according o his or her faith.40

10 At the end of the judicial decree, the judge announces hisjudgment, sing tandard xpressions, ccording o the meansof

proof.or nstance, f hemeans f

proofs an

acknowledgment(iqrar), he udge uses the term binding" ilzam),41s in "...bound by the above-mentioned li Agha so as to reject ndacknowledge " If the means of proof s witness estimony,then the term to exhort" tanbih) s used, e.g. "the proxy fthe above-mentioned was exhorted or refusal nd acknowl-

39)AliHaydar, urar l-Hukkam,:868-69;Bayindir,slamMuhdkemeukuku, ff.40)Kzyindirjsldm uhdkemeukuku, , 181 f.;stanbul hariyyahijilleri, -334/11-12;

AliHaydar, urar l-Hukkam,:869.41)Accordingothe urists, lzammeans hat ne of the itigants ccepted he tatementof the other nd therefore as silent. or example,f person cknowledged hat t sobligatory or im o act ccordingo the cknowledgment.




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edgement ..." We also find xpressions uch as "it was decreedthat ..."

The above xpressionsreusedfor he qadaal-ilzam r binding udg-ment r for he ada al-istihqaq r execution f restitution. hismeansthat the ccused personwas bound n terms f the disputed asebythe udge statement,I havedecreed hat he laimed bject egiven.'"In a decree alled"performance f renunciation" qadaal-tark), he

judgerejects heplaintiffs awsuitwith xpressionsike youhavenoright, oyou hould otdispute", ... has beenprevented rom ispute"or "... has been prevented rom ispute rom he aspect f Shari'ahcourts. .."Through areful ttention othese xpressions,n Vlammaybe distinguished rom ther ntries n the Sharicah ecords.42

A judicial decree ssuedby a court was called an Vlam becauseits main aim was to request heexecution f a court decision.Thecourt was required o submit ts decree o executive uthorities orimplementation. urthermore, n certain ases, qadihad to submithis judgments o the Sultan, the head of the executive uthority,or to the Grand Vizier,who was regarded s the Sultans proxy. orthis reason, particularly rom he late 17th entury nwards, hejudgment ection f a judicialdecreebegins o include xpressionssuchas "... submitted o his royal ighness hat ..," "... submittedto his Excellency hat t was ordered hat he ...," or "... submittedto his royal highness hrough he privilege f Mehmed Chawushthat al-amru i men ahul-amr the entire ssue s in the hands

of the authorities." or this reason, rom he ate 11th/ 7th enturyonwards, hefollowing xpressions egin o be usedat the beginningof a judicialdecree: ma(ruz-i aci-i dawlat-i aliyyah>.e. the well-wisher f your steemed uccess resents ..," or "... mafruz-i di-idewam-i omr, .e., he who prays for the prolonging f your ifepresents

" Sometimes, nly the word "ma'ruz* s used at thebeginning f a judicialdecree.Theseexpressions ave caused someresearchers o confuse judicial decreeor Vlam with a petition rma'ruz. he two re different.n the LegalCodeofSultanMuhammad

42)AliHaydar, urar l-Hukkam,:659-62, 69-70;Debbaghzade,>?mf^-S^,252-53,255;MajallakArticle 786.




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the Conqueror nd Sultan Suleiman heLawmaker, t is stated hatsome important udicial decrees would be submitted o his royalhighness."43

Unlikea hujjah deed, t is not necessary or n i(lamor judicialdecree to contain list of the names of the witnesses, nder therubric huhud l-hal. If the means of proof s witness estimony,the namesof the witnessesmight e written t the end of a judicialdecree. n the 18th entury, he witnesses re never mentioned,

especially n a judicial decree based upon an acknowledgment.However, he name of the complainant s likely o be mentionedin a decree nvolving crime.Judicial ecreeswere different romdeeds. In the 19th entury ecords, ocuments hat mention wit-nesseswere considered eeds, while others re viewedas judicialdecrees.Nevertheless, itnesses re mentioned n certain udicialdecrees.44

Judicial ecrees regenerally entioned nder hefollowing erms,differing ccording o their ubjects: cknowledgment f a debt,proving eceivables,ffering he oath to the opposing arty tahlif),the postponement f receivables, uarantee, ransfer nd restitution,declaration f freedom or laves,ease ijarah), ndowments, arriageand divorce, enalties orfalse ccusation f illicit exual relations(qazf),winedrinking shirb) nd adultery zina),examining uildings,conversion o Islam or apostatizing rom slam irtidad), he deter-mination f the beginning f the month f fasting Ramadan); heftand punishment f theft hadd al-sirqati).

Any document elating o one of the above-mentioned ubjects,including he judgment f a qadi, is an Vlam or judicial decree,even f the term ma(ruz r ma'ruz l-dawlah l-aliyyahs mentionedat the beginning, nd whether r not the "witnesses f the case"{shuhud l-hat) re mentioned t the bottom.

43)Qanun-i thmanu upplementsotheJournal f he Council f he Ottoman istory,Istanbul 330, 0-72;Debbaghmdeami'us-Sakk,23-40;B23-127104;Hilmi rgUney,Turk ukuk ugati, 18;Bayindir,slamMuhdkemeukuku, 8ff.44)Bayindir, slamMuhdkeme ukukuy 1 Judicial ecrees n the RecordBook no. Besikta§Shar'iyyahijilleri, 3-127, stanbul abMahkemesi,-88/50a.




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One important lamrelates o receivables, he means of proofbeing the testimony f witnesses:45

Being hecauseof the ssuance f thiswritten ocument tself, ehmedBe§e, on of Mahmud, butcher, ttered he following llegation t theSharicahourt n the resencef he efendant, smanBey, onofMustafa:"Inreturn ormeat urchased romme, heweight ndamount fwhich sknown o both f us, nd after he alculations avebeenmade, he fore-mentioned smanowesme 2020 akcha.OsmanBey cknowledgedn the

presencefwitnesses-neday efore hiswritten ocument asdrafted- hathe owesme2020 akcha. require hat hematter e fully nvestigatedndthat smanBey e ordered opayme he aid mount." hen he efendantwas asked bout he ituation, edenied t, nd the plaintiff asasked opresent videnceo upport is llegation. heplaintiff hen rought bdul-lah, son of Mustafa, Muslim nd trustworthy ersonwho ives n theAwliyah uarter n Istanbul, nd Hasan, on of brahim, ho ives n theWaladKarabashiuarter, s witnesses othe haricah ourt. fter he fore-mentioned itnesses ere sked bout hematter, hey resented heir es-timony, egally,aying: In truth, smanBey wes heplaintiff 020 akchaas the price f the mutton, hetruth f whichhe acknowledgedne dayprior o the drafting f this document n our presence, esignating s aswitnessess well.Therefore, e are nowthe witnesses f the ame nd weattest o t."When he haracter nd ocial ackgroundf he witnesses ereestablished nd their estimony asaccepted, judgment asgiven orremunerationnd the defendant asduly rdered. hematter asthereaf-ter egisteredn the records, s requested.

Zil-qadah, 127/1715.

Mehmed onofAhmed helebi,Abdullah onofAbdullah helebi,Mustafa helebi, onofShabanoglu,AbuBakr, onofKatibAhmed.

45)stanbul abMahkemesi,-11 /43a.




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ThetermmcCruziterally eans something resented." edraw tten-tion to three ypes f ma'ruzat: 1) a generalma'ruzpetition; 2) ama'ruz s an official ocument n which one official/office equestsaction from nother often superior) r informs t of a particularmatter; 3) a ma'ruz f a

qadi,which s ike n Vlam.

Technically, he term macruzhas two meanings.The primarymeaning efers o an independent ocument hat does not contain




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the judgment f a qadi. Although written y a qadi, it is notacceptable s a written roof or he determination f a legalcase.It is a written ocument n which he qadisubmits n administrativematter o the executive uthorities/offices. ther documents f thistype nclude petitions f complaint ubmitted o the executiveauthorities r to the adi.However, ma'ruz s n general documentand recordwritten y an officer f lower rank to his superiors osubmit request for nformation r a case. Such documents re

alsoknown s (arizah r (arz.46 he secondarymeaning s associatedwith an Vlam ddressed nd submitted o the office f execution.For nstance,ma'ruz egisters reserved n the Archives f the Officeof the Mufti f Istanbul re registers f Vlams, .e., catalogues on-tainingVlams. eginning n the 17th entury, ostVlams pen withthe statement ma'ruz l-daH l-dawlah l-aliyyah ..." We shouldnot treat heseVlams, n which the word ma(ruz s written t thebeginning, s comprising he minutes f nvestigation ubmitted ya regent o a qadi. These were Vlams relating o penal law andjudgments ubmitted ya regent oexecutive uthorities the Sultanor Grand Vizier).But ust as the egalcode of Sultan Muhammadthe Conqueror equired he ubmission f mportant ecrees o highexecutive uthorities, hesame tradition as observed ntil heendof the Ottoman period. Each issue of taqvim l-waqayVthe firstOttoman fficial azette) ontained ecrees f retaliation ubmittedto and certified y the sultan. Moreover, n Vlam n a sakk bookis identical o an Vlamregistered s a ma'ruz.

The difference etween ma(ruzwritteny

aqadi

and an Vlamregistered s a ma'ruz s that he former oes not contain he qadi'sjudgment. Rather, he qadi submits he matters o the relevantoffices f execution. A vizier might ubmit report n the goodconduct of a mufti nd qadi in the region nd recommend ispromotion ma'ruz of good conduct, malruz l-husn l-hal). Hemight ubmit report n the bad behavior f bandits nd demandthat ction be taken ma'ruz of bad conduct, ma'ruz l-su al-hal).

46)Qanun-i thmanu heSupplementso the Journal f heCommittee or heHistoryof heOttomans, 0-72;Bayindir,sldmMuhdkemeukuku, 8ff.;Sl-25/lff.; asimpasaSijilleri 3-93/ ff.; ebbaghzade,23-39, 41-70.




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He might nform he office f execution f vacant posts {ma'ruzal-jihat l-mahlulah) r submit report n positions jihats) liminatedor abolished ma'ruz l-jihat l-mafrugha al-marfu(a). qadi mightprovide nformation bout the receipt f a decree ent by the cen-tral dministration r submit report n the situation f qadisandulama who served training eriod n official osts mulazamati)\or he might ubmit report n e.g., the release f a prisoner, hedeath of a governor r qadi, or a request or license.47

The following s an example f a ma'ruz petition:Long ive ur Grand), illustrious)ndblessed ultan amoneof he wel-lers f Haskoy.Recently andits ppeared n the forementioned illage,broke nto myhouse, nd stole mybelongings. submit o the willof mySultan hat suspect omepersons. f your ighness ouldkindly onveywritten ecree oBostanji gha, he will nvestigatehematter. he edict(ferman)s frommy ultan.

Sayyid mar, on of dris.

Uponthe eceipt f he written omplaint, heGrand izier, he epresenta-tive f the ultan, onveyedhefollowing ecree oBostanjibashigha:It has been ecreed hat he Honorable ostanjibashigha houldnvestigatethe matter o that he uspected ersons nd robbers eapprehendedndbrought o ustice.In 1085/1674.

The MurasalahJudge's

etter fAppointment)Theqadicarried ut other ypes fofficial orrespondence.or nstance,

upon receipt f n edict r decree rom he apital, qadi might ritean official etter o the voivode48r the katkhuda f district rderingthat criminal e apprehended. ith n official etter, emight lsoappoint deputy udgeor delegate isauthority o him. A documentwritten y a qadi to a person f the same or lower rank s calledamurasalah. uch a document alls nto two categories: 1) Subpoenas

47)Debbaghzade,>razf^-&z££,41-70.; A military ommandern Slavic ountries;ocalgovernor f town r provincen aSlavic ountry, sp.Poland,Moldavia, ransylvania Wallachia.




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summoning he accused to the court; nd (2) other elated ssues.49Many uchdocuments re found n the ourt ecords.

33.2 Documentsmanating rom ther fficesnd Registeredn theRecords

Especiallyn the provincial apitals, heqadi receivedmanydecrees,sent generally y the central dministration o a beglerbegi, sanjakprincipality, r a town, nd to a qadiordeputy adi. These ecrees ere

addressed o the qadi,who was charged ot onlywith hari'ah ffairsbut lso with xecutive ower nhis urisdictional omain, s ndicatedin documents f appointment or adis.The qadisregistered ecrees{firmans),mperialetters berats), rders onveyed y heGrandVizier,beglerbegind qadaskan s well as other ocuments ent by distate nstitutions.

Decrees nd Edicts from he Sultan

Decrees nd edicts ent o the qadi by the sultan all nto two maincategories. he first ategory ncludes ecrees awamir ndfaramin)50written ythe ultan r n hisname, asedupon his tatus s the ulti-mate ource f authority. he sultan might nform qadi that he hadselected ne of several iews n a matter isputed n the Sharicah, rhemight onvey written ecree ndorsing he xecution f Shari'ahrule, r formulate n abstract talkhis) f the mperial ouncil DiwanHumayun), ithin he imits f uthorized rrangements, boutwhich

he then nformed adis.Thesedocuments ereoften rafted t theOffice f the Qadi of stanbul, here pecial egisters ere ometimesdevoted o them. f the egister asnot used, hedocument as regist-ered t the beginning, iddle, r end of the Shari'ah ecords, o thattheywouldbe separate rom ther ntries.

Second, the sultan ssuedfirmans, mperial etters nd ordersconcerning he assignment f tasks, .e., assigning iefs o farmersor trade icenses. n the Ottoman tate, heoffices f the qadi, theimam, he preacher, nd the holder of public and, among others,

49)Haskdy ahkemesiijilleri, 9-9/39; ayindir,slamMuhakeme ukuku, 9,254.50)Awamirsplural f mr, araminsplural f irman.




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were assigned o persons n officialmemoranda, manating romthe qadaskar nd grand vizier, nd in edicts and imperial ettersissuedby the sultan.A copy of the edicts nd imperial etters asregistered n the Sharicah ecords f the respective ocalities.

Orders rom heGrandVizier,Beglerbegi nd QadaskarTheGrandVizier, hedeputy f the ultan,wascharged ith he xe-

cution nd follow-up f Sharicah ecrees nd aws.The Grand Vizier,in accordance ith decree ythe ultan, oulddraw he ttention fqadisto certain egalmatters. he Sharicah ecords ontainmandates(buyrultu),.e.,thewritten rder f the GrandVizier, n which he ap-points dmirals, iziers, eglerbeghnd qadaskar,

4. Conclusion

The haricah ourt ystem rose n the arly eriod f heOttoman tate.Offices uch s the haikhuislam,adaskar, nd qadiformed hemainpart f he Ottoman udicial ody. number f developmentsffectingtheOttoman udiciary ccurred uring he eign fMahmud I, duringthe Tanzimat eriod, nd in the period hat ollowed. hesedevelop-ments rought bout changes n the status nd function f the keyactors n the Ottoman udicial nterprise, .e.,the haikhuislam,adas-kar, nd qadi.

Ottoman shari'ah records were preserved etter han in other

pre-modern uslim tates. he Ottoman tate ook careto preservesharicah ecords n accordancewith aws,decrees nd local orders.The first aw about preserving ourt records, legaldecree nactedby SultanBayezid (1389-1402),contained ules bout writing ndpreserving ocuments nd registration rocedures. uring hereignofSultanMehmed I (1451-1481),wefind ome rules n theOttomanLegalCode. After Mehmed I, new and independent egalguide-lines, enacted by Ottoman authorities, ealt with the registrationof sharicah ecords. hese egal guidelineswere alledQanunndme-iRusum LegalCode for Court Fees).After heTanzimatmovement,new arrangements ere made for writing nd preserving haricahrecords.




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A.AkgiinduzIslamic aw andSociety6 (2009)202-230 229

A number f records n the sharicah ecord ooks were classifiedinto two categories. he first ategory ncludes he records reparedand written y the qadi, which, n turn, all nto five ubcategories:deeds hujjahs), udicialdecrees i'lams), etitions ma'ruzat), udges'letters f appointment murasalat) nd other records. he secondcategoryncludes ultanic ecrees, rders f ppointment, nstructionsand other ypes f decrees hat were not prepared y a qadi.

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