Ministry of Justice (Ottoman Empire)

The Ministry of Justice (Ottoman Turkish: عدليه نظارتی; Turkish: Adliyye Nezâreti) was the justice ministry of the Ottoman Empire, based in Constantinople (now Istanbul). It also served as the Ministry of Religions.^[1]

Ministry of Judicial Affairs

Ottoman Turkish: امورِ عدليه نظارتی Umur-ı Adliyye Nezâreti
Agency overview
Formed	1879
Superseding agency	Ministry of Judicial Affairs of the Republic of Turkey (2 May 1920)
Jurisdiction	Ottoman Empire
Headquarters	Constantinople

It was established in 1879 as part of a reorganisation of the empire's legal system.^[2] Non-Muslim ecclesiastical authorities relied on the ministry. The ministry took control of the commercial courts and commercial appeal courts from the Ministry of Commerce.^[1]

Organization

By 1900, the Ministry of Justice included the following high courts:^[3]

• Supreme Judicial Council (Encümen-i Adliye)
• Court of Cassation (Mahkeme-i Temyiz), with civil, criminal, and administrative sections.
• Appeals Court (Mahkeme-i Istinaf), with criminal, civil, correctional, and commercial justice sections.
  • Court for the First Instance for Istanbul (Der Saadet Bidayet Mahkemesi)
  • Tribunal of Commerce (Mahkeme-i Ticaret)

The ministry was responsible for administering secular Nizamiye courts, training judges, and supervizing secular legal education.^[4]

Successor

Ministry of Justice (Turkey) currently governs affairs in Turkey.

See also

• Ioannis Vithynos
• Supreme Council of Judicial Ordinances, its predecessor