OSMANLI KAZA MAHKEMELERİNDE KÂTİPLERİN YARGISAL ROLÜ: KASTAMONU ÖRNEĞİ (1760-1770)
JUDICIAL ROLE OF COURT CLERKS IN OTTOMAN DISTRICT COURTS: KASTAMONU CASE (1760-1770)

Summary/Abstract: This article explores the quasi-judicial role of court clerks within the Ottoman justice system through a micro-historical analysis of court records from the Kastamonu district court between 1760 and 1770. While the Ottoman legal structure is traditionally characterized as kadi-centered, this study demonstrates that clerks were not merely record-keepers but also occasionally acted as decision-makers. An examination of eight court registers comprising 606 cases reveals that 82 of these were directly handled by court clerks. Although the involvement of clerks ensured continuity and procedural efficiency in provincial courts, their long-term presence also enabled them to accumulate influence, occasionally leading to abuses of power. Complaints submitted to the central authority regarding es-Seyyid Mehmed Efendi, a long-serving clerk in the Kastamonu court, illustrate this risk. The study argues that Ottoman provincial justice was not solely based on kadis and naibs but functioned as a multi-actor system in which clerks could also assume active judicial roles—highlighting the discrepancy between formal legal norms and actual judicial practices.

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