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108 ómer Turan 2

The preparations for Tanzimat started during the reign of Mahinud II (1784-1839)¹. In 1839, during the reign of Sułtan Abdiilmecid, Tanzimat (reforms), also known as the Giilhane Hałti, was prepared by the Prime Minister (Sadrazam) Mustafa Reęit Pa$a in order to fortify the inefficient institutions of the Ottoman State through legał reform ^{2 3 4}. The Tanzimat movement was the expression of the Ottoman State' s decision to enter a course of reorganisation. The equality of all subjects was the fundamental principle of this reorganisation. Non-denominational laws were introduced in order to improve the existing situation. Tanzimat was an internal movement towards westermzation. But the reforms were prepared under tlie influence of European legał philosophy as well as the political pressures of some European States. Most Europeans were in favour of political and legał reforms. However, they tried to influence developments according to their own ambitions^s.

During the Tanzimat era, two groups of codes were prepared and accepted: the adapted codes and origmal codes ². The adapted codes were the regulations either applied directly from Western European laws (mainly France) or changed partly before adeption. This system covered commercial and procedural law. Original codes, on the other hand, were prepared by use of both traditional and Islamie canon law. Those covered the fields of criminal, land and civil laws.

A. Adapted Codes

In the Ottoman State the first legislative movement indifferent from Europę, started in the field of commercial law. The main reason behind the preparation of the commercial law was the fact that new economic privileges were given to the Englishby the 1838 Ottoman-English Commercial Treaty. This lead to an increase in the amount of commercial exchanges. Consequently, foreign developments in the commercial field determined the need for new codes in the economic and social fields. This indicates that economic and social changes were mostly initiated by commercial changes.

In 1850, a new commercial codę was accepted ⁵. This new codę was almost completely derived from the French Commercial Codę, although this fact was not mentionedinitspreamble.Thesourcewasrefenedtoanonymouslyas, “thepreviouscode”.

1

   About Tanzimat see: Halil Inalctk, “Tanzimat Nedir”, Tarih Arajtirmalari Dergisi, 1/1 (1940-41); Ed. Engelbardt, Tanzimat, Ayda Diiz (tr.), Milliyet Yaytnlart, 1976. A book consisting of explanatory articles: Tanzimat I, Istanbul, 1940. About reforms and generał atmosphere of the period see: J.Stanford Shaw and Ezel Kural Shaw, History of the Ottoman Empire and Modem Turkey, Vol.II, Cambridge, 1977, pp.55-172.

2

   Engelhard, p.ll.

3

   Miimtaz Turhan, Kultur Degifmeleri, Second Ed., Ankara, 1972, p.241.

4

   About historical development of the codification, see: “Kavanin ve Nizamat-i Devlet-i Aliyye’nin Cem ve Telfiki”, Dustur, (Ikinci tertip), Vol.I; for the French translation of accepted codes, see: George Yung, Corps de Droit Ottoman, Oxford, 1906. In this book adapted and non-adapted French Codę articles are present. Therefore, a generał idea about which codes were taken can be seen. Also about the codification of Tanzimat period, see: Ebul’ula Mardin, “The Development of the Shari’a under the Ottoman Empire”, Siddik Sami Onar, “The Majalla”, and HJ.Liebesny, “The Development of Western Judicial Privileges” in Law in the Middle East, MJChadduri and H J.Liebesny (Eds.), Vol.I, Origin and Development of Islamie Law, Washington DC, 1955, pp. 279-333.

5

   Dustur, (Birinci tertip),.Vol.I, p.375.