Cataloged from PDF version of article.Kadıs were heads of civil administration in the Ottoman provinces. In addition to
judicial duties, they carried out administrative duties. With the passage of time from the
fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries, the importance of the kadıs serving in the
proximity of the center gradually increased, and they undertook more responsibility in
administration of justice and of other governmental duties.
In this thesis, duties of kadıs were generally discussed, and their duties in court
procedure were examined in detail in the light of court records and the Şeyhulislams’
fetvas of mainly seventeenth century. Stages in hearing of legal cases, transfer of cases
and annulment of judgment are specific subjects examined in this thesis. It can be
suggested that Ottoman court procedure had pre-determined rules, which were designed
to prevent partiality in court.Atçıl, AbdurrahmanM.S
