Modernity, Reception, and Transformation in 19th-Century Ottoman Law: Transplantation of Concordat into Turkish Legal History

The 19th century was a watershed for the modernization of Ottoman law. The codifications and transplantations of the 19th century included Kânûnnâme-i Ticâret (1850), a commercial code transplanted from French law, more specifically Code de commerce (1807). The dominant view in the scholarly literat...

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Main Author: Ali Ekber Cinar
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Istanbul University Press 2024-06-01
Series:İstanbul Hukuk Mecmuası
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Online Access:https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/40E43786AFC74451B9E9D4A18A3A4947
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author Ali Ekber Cinar
author_facet Ali Ekber Cinar
author_sort Ali Ekber Cinar
collection DOAJ
description The 19th century was a watershed for the modernization of Ottoman law. The codifications and transplantations of the 19th century included Kânûnnâme-i Ticâret (1850), a commercial code transplanted from French law, more specifically Code de commerce (1807). The dominant view in the scholarly literature considers Kânûnnâme-i Ticâret to be a literal translation of France’s Code de commerce. In this paper, I revisit this view and examine (i) the relationship between Kânûnnâme-i Ticâret and Code de commerce and (ii) the modernization of Ottoman law in the 19th century, with a specific focus on the legal procedure known as concordat. I claim that Kânûnnâme-i Ticâret differed from Code de commerce in significant ways through the many additions, deletions, and modifications the Ottomans made, and my examination demonstrates that approximately a third of the articles present in Kânûnnâme-i Ticâret have no equivalent in Code de commerce. As a result, I argue that the Ottoman legislator did not hesitate to go beyond merely transplanting Europeanideas and ideals, taking the local context into consideration throughout the process of modernization and reception in the Ottoman Empire during the 19th century.
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spelling doaj-art-2c195733309d465b829fa876f24bc7b82025-08-20T02:15:32ZengIstanbul University Pressİstanbul Hukuk Mecmuası2667-69742024-06-0182114610.26650/mecmua.2024.82.1.001123456Modernity, Reception, and Transformation in 19th-Century Ottoman Law: Transplantation of Concordat into Turkish Legal HistoryAli Ekber Cinar0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6404-9271Galatasaray Üniversitesi, Istanbul, TurkiyeThe 19th century was a watershed for the modernization of Ottoman law. The codifications and transplantations of the 19th century included Kânûnnâme-i Ticâret (1850), a commercial code transplanted from French law, more specifically Code de commerce (1807). The dominant view in the scholarly literature considers Kânûnnâme-i Ticâret to be a literal translation of France’s Code de commerce. In this paper, I revisit this view and examine (i) the relationship between Kânûnnâme-i Ticâret and Code de commerce and (ii) the modernization of Ottoman law in the 19th century, with a specific focus on the legal procedure known as concordat. I claim that Kânûnnâme-i Ticâret differed from Code de commerce in significant ways through the many additions, deletions, and modifications the Ottomans made, and my examination demonstrates that approximately a third of the articles present in Kânûnnâme-i Ticâret have no equivalent in Code de commerce. As a result, I argue that the Ottoman legislator did not hesitate to go beyond merely transplanting Europeanideas and ideals, taking the local context into consideration throughout the process of modernization and reception in the Ottoman Empire during the 19th century.https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/40E43786AFC74451B9E9D4A18A3A4947concordatottoman commercial code (1850)french commercial code (1807)modernizationreceptionottoman empireottoman law
spellingShingle Ali Ekber Cinar
Modernity, Reception, and Transformation in 19th-Century Ottoman Law: Transplantation of Concordat into Turkish Legal History
İstanbul Hukuk Mecmuası
concordat
ottoman commercial code (1850)
french commercial code (1807)
modernization
reception
ottoman empire
ottoman law
title Modernity, Reception, and Transformation in 19th-Century Ottoman Law: Transplantation of Concordat into Turkish Legal History
title_full Modernity, Reception, and Transformation in 19th-Century Ottoman Law: Transplantation of Concordat into Turkish Legal History
title_fullStr Modernity, Reception, and Transformation in 19th-Century Ottoman Law: Transplantation of Concordat into Turkish Legal History
title_full_unstemmed Modernity, Reception, and Transformation in 19th-Century Ottoman Law: Transplantation of Concordat into Turkish Legal History
title_short Modernity, Reception, and Transformation in 19th-Century Ottoman Law: Transplantation of Concordat into Turkish Legal History
title_sort modernity reception and transformation in 19th century ottoman law transplantation of concordat into turkish legal history
topic concordat
ottoman commercial code (1850)
french commercial code (1807)
modernization
reception
ottoman empire
ottoman law
url https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/40E43786AFC74451B9E9D4A18A3A4947
work_keys_str_mv AT aliekbercinar modernityreceptionandtransformationin19thcenturyottomanlawtransplantationofconcordatintoturkishlegalhistory