The change of law Ottoman State in Tanzi̇mat process and Namık Kemal's law thought

Law is one of the basic institutions that were subject to change during the modernization period of the Ottoman Empire. The change in terms of law had not been only about implementing the laws that had Western origins within the Ottoman Empire, but it was also about the meaning given to law itself. The basic concepts on which law had been built in the classical era of the Ottoman Empire changed with the Tanzimat period. It was by means of law when the bureaucrats of Tanzimat era created new institiutions in order to stop the state's underdevelopment and as a result transformed the society. Hence, there emerged some differences in law-making and in practice of law. The intellectuals of Tanzimat, in this sense, made use of the reforms brought by Tanzimat and they provided the creation of Tanzimat thought. Using new forms of expression such as novel, theatre, translated works and newspaper, they closely followed the change in the state and the society during the process of Tanzimat. There is no doubt that change in law had a remarkable place in such intellectual pursuit of Tanzimat era. Canon, therefore law, as the basic dynamic of the change in the state and the society was examined from different perspectives in the intellectual world of Tanzimat thinkers. Aforementioned change was examined and subject to criticism by Namık Kemal. Regarding that law is a matter of subject that is widely discussed in the public opion nowadays, it is necessary to account for the change in law in Tanzimat era that can be counted as the basis of modern Turkish law and how it was interpreted by Namık Kemal. His law critique that takes justice as the basis is enlightening in the sense of locality of law and law-making. In our thesis, we tried to present Namık Kemal's interpretation of law after introducing the basic concepts of law in the classical era of the Ottoman Empire and eloborating on the changes took place in these concept in Tanzimat period. Namık Kemal's justice-centered interpretation of law has a path-breaking approach to philosophical and structural questions of law.