Transcription, index and evaluation of ceride-i mehâkim's numbers 36-65 (1874)

The nineteenth century reform movements, especially the Tanzimat period, marked the beginning of a new era in Ottoman history. This multidimensional movement of change in all areas of state organisation led to the emergence of new institutions. In this context, one of the areas in question was judicial organisation. One of the main points emphasised by the Tanzimat Edict was the modernisation of the understanding of justice and the legal system. The Tanzimat thought, which emerged with a high ideal of reforming and modernising the social order, adopted the policy of institutional standardisation and openness in the judicial organisation as a principle. In this context, care was taken to inform state institutions and the public about the innovations in the justice mechanism. While there was no periodical with a direct theme of judicial organisation in the Ottoman press, the first law-themed media organ named Ceride-i Mehâkim began to be published in 1873, within the scope of the regulations made in the courthouse organization during the reign of Sultan Abdülaziz. Through this newspaper/journal, it is possible to determine the profile of the Ottoman judicial system and legal practices in the last quarter of the 19th century. In this publication, it is possible to access a large number of findings on the concept of crime and punishment in the late Ottoman society through the laws and regulations issued by the Adliye Nezareti (Ministry of Justice), as well as examples of practices and court judgments regarding various cases. In our study, after giving information about the development of the Ottoman press and the emergence of Cerîde-i Mehâkim, we transcribed the first thirty issues of Cerîde-i Mehâkim, 36-65, dated 1874. Then, we made general evaluations regarding the content analysis of the relevant issues. Finally, we prepared the subject-based index of the issues in tables. We believe that our study about Ceride-i Mehâkim, which sheds light on the Ottoman legal structure of the period when it was published, will constitute an important resource for academic and popular studies, especially in the field of law and history. Key Words: Ottoman Empire, XIXth Century, Cerîde-i Mehâkim, Law, Press.