Sharī‘aJudges in the Ottoman Nizāmiye Courts, 1864-1908

Abstract

One of the important characteristics of the Ottoman Nizāmiye court system established after 1864 was the fact that sharī‘a court judges served simultane-ously as judges of the Nizāmiye courts in many places of the empire. Additionally, the Ministry of Justice appointed many ulemā members as Nizāmiye judges. Draw-ing upon the Ottoman archival sources, this article investigates the background of the ulemā’s continuing presence in the Nizāmiye courts. Although the ilmiye members’ service as civil judges was generally accepted, the district nāibs’ handling of criminal cases was sometimes deemed problematic. However, the Ministry of Justice could not appoint independent criminal judges to the district courts due to fi nancial constraints as well as a shortage of qualifi ed personnel. In order to maintain their positions in the Nizāmiye courts, the ulemā had to adjust themselves to the new system. As a result of their reform eff orts, the Nizāmiye system worked despite the empire’s limited resources.