In testimony of our promise we will, after having deposited these presents in the hall containing the glorious mantle of the prophet, in the presence of all the ulemas and the grandees of the empire, make an oath thereto in the name of God, and shall afterwards cause the oath to be taken by the ulemas and the grandees of the empire.
After that, those from among the ulemas or the grandees of the empire, or any other persons whatsoever who shall infringe these institutions, shall undergo, without respect of rank, position, and influence, the punishment corresponding to his crime, after having been well authenticated.
A penal code shall be compiled to that effect. As all the public servants of the empire receive a suitable salary, and as the salaries of those whose duties have not up to the present time been sufficiently remunerated are to be fixed, a rigorous law shall be passed against the traffic of favoritism and bribery (richvet), which the Divine law reprobates, and which is one of the principal causes of the decay of the empire.
The above dispositions being a thorough alteration and renewal of ancient customs this imperial rescript shall be published at Constantinople and in all places of our empire, and shall be officially communicated to all the ambassadors of the friendly powers resident at Constantinople, that they may be witnesses to the granting of these institutions, which, should it please God, shall last forever. Wherein may the Most High have us in His holy keeping. May those who commit an act contrary to the present regulations be object of Divine malediction, and be deprived forever of every kind of [protection] happiness.
Source: J. C. Hurewitz, Diplomacy in the Near and Middle East: A Documentary Record, 1535–1914 (Princeton, NJ: D. Van Nostrand Company, 1956), 1:113–116. Reprinted with permission.
13. OTTOMAN CONSTITUTION (DECEMBER 1876)
The era of Tanzimat was dominated by government officials who had received their education and training at the Translation Office followed by service at Ottoman embassies in European capitals. Under the leadership of Mustafa Reşid Pasha (Mustafa Reshid Pasha) and his protégés, Fuad Paha and Āli Pasha, the center of power shifted from the palace to the Porte and particularly the ministry of foreign affairs.
After the death of Āli Pasha, the last statesman of the Tanzimat period, in September 1871, several grand viziers came and went as Sultan Abdülaziz became increasingly involved in running the everyday affairs of the empire, thus introducing an element of chaos. Then, in the early hours of May 30, 1876, a small group of officials and army commanders, led by the energetic and reform-minded statesman Midhat Pasha, carried out a peaceful military coup. A nephew of Abdülaziz, Prince Murad, was brought out of his residence to the ministry of war and declared the new sultan.
Before the new sultan could establish himself, however, the news of Abdülaziz’s sudden death was announced to a shocked populace on June 4. The body of the deposed sultan had been discovered in his private bedroom, his wrists slashed with a pair of scissors, leading many to conclude that he had been murdered. To counter the rumors of assassination, the government called on doctors from several foreign embassies in Istanbul to examine the body and offer their medical opinion on the cause of death, which was officially declared a suicide. This profoundly affected the new sultan, Murad, who suffered a nervous breakdown. Midhat Pasha and his colleagues decided to depose Murad in favor of his brother, who ascended the Ottoman throne on August 31 as Abdülhamid II. Midhat was appointed grand vizier on December 19, and four days later the first Ottoman constitution was introduced by the new grand vizier.
Art. I. The Ottoman empire comprises present territory and possessions, and semi-dependent provinces. It forms an indivisible whole, from which no portion can be detached under pretext whatever.
Art. II. Istanbul is the capital of the Ottoman empire. This city possesses no privilege or immunity peculiar to itself over the other towns of the empire.
Sultan, “Supreme Caliph”
Art. III. The Ottoman sovereignty, which includes in the person of the sovereign the supreme caliphate of Islam, belongs to the oldest prince of the House of Osman, in accordance with traditional practice.
Art. IV. His Majesty the Sultan, under the title of “Supreme Caliph,” is the protector of the Muslim religion. He is the sovereign and padishah (emperor) of all the Ottomans.
Art. V. His Majesty, the Sultan is irresponsible; his person is sacred.
Art. VI. The liberty of the members of the Imperial Ottoman Dynasty, their property, real and personal, and their civil list during their lifetime, are under the guarantee of all.
Sovereign Rights of the Sultan
Art. VII. Among the sovereign rights of His Majesty the Sultan are the following prerogatives:-He makes and cancels the appointments of ministers; he confers the grades, functions and insignia of his orders, and confers investiture on the chiefs of the privileged provinces, according to forms determined by the privileges granted them; he has the coining of money; his name is pronounced in the mosques during public prayer; he concludes treaties with the powers; he declares war and makes peace; he commands both land and sea forces; he directs military movements; he carries out the provisions of the Shari’ah (the sacred law), and of the other laws; he sees to the administration of public measures; he respites or commutes sentences pronounced by the criminal courts; he summons and prorogues the General Assembly; he dissolves, if he deems it necessary, the Chamber of Deputies, provided he directs the election of new members.
Public Law of the Ottomans’ Personal Liberty
Art. VIII. All subjects of the empire are called Ottomans, without distinction, whatever faith they profess; the status of an Ottoman is acquired and lost according to conditions specified by law.
Art. IX. Every Ottoman enjoys personal liberty on condition of not interfering with the liberty of others.
Art. X. Personal liberty is wholly inviolable. No one can suffer punishment, under any pretext whatsoever, except in cases determined by law, and according to the forms prescribed by it.
Religion
Art. XI. Islam is the state religion.
The Press
Art. XII. The press is free, within limits imposed by law.
Right of Petition
Art. XIV. One or more persons of Ottoman nationality have the right of presenting petitions in the proper quarter relating to the breaking of law and regulation, done either to their own or public detriment, and may likewise present in protest signed petitions to the General Ottoman Assembly, complaining of the conduct of state servants and functionaries.
Education
Art. XV. Education is free. Every Ottoman can attend public or private instructions on condition of conforming to the law.
Schools
Art. XVI. All schools are under state supervision. Proper means will be devised for harmonizing and regulating the instruction given to all the Ottomans, but without interfering with the religious education in the various districts.
Equality Before the Law, Public Offices
Article XVII. All Ottomans are equal in the eyes of the law. They have the same rights and owe the same duties towards their country, without prejudice to religion.
Article XVIII. Eligibility to public office is conditional on a knowledge of Turkish, which is the official language of the state.
Article XIX. All Ottomans are admitted to public offices, according to their fitness, merit, and ability.
Taxes
Article XX. The assessment and distribution of the taxes are to be in proportion to the fortune of each taxpayer, in conformity with the laws and special regulations.
Property
Article XXI. Property, real and personal, of lawful title, is guaranteed. There can be no dispossession, except on good public cause shown, and subject to the previous payment, according to law of the value of the property in question.
Inviolability of Domicile
Article XXII. The domicile is inviolable. The authorities cannot break into any dwelling except in cases prescribed by law.
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Tribunals
Article XXIII. No one is bound to appear before any other than a competent tribunal, according to statutory form of procedure.
Property. Forced Labour. Contributions in Time of War
Article XXIV. Confiscation of property, forced labour (“corvée”), and taking temporary possession of property are prohibited. Nevertheless, contributions lawfully levied in time of war, and measures rendered necessary by the exigencies of war, are exempt from this provision.
Taxes and Imposts
Article XXV. No sum of money can be exacted under the name of a tax or impost, or under any other title whatsoever, except by virtue of law.
Torture and Inquisition
Article XXVI. Torture and inquisition, under any form, are wholly and absolutely forbidden. …
Ministers of the Crown
Article XXVIII. The Council of Ministers shall meet under the presidency of the Grand Vizier.
The functions of the Council of Ministers comprise all the important business, domestic or foreign, of the State. …
Article XXX. The ministers are responsible for decisions or acts under their management. …
Public Functionaries
Article XXXIX. All appointments to various public functions shall be made in conformity with the regulations which shall determine the conditions of merit and capacity required for admission to employment under the state. No functionary appointed under these conditions can be dismissed or transferred; unless it can be proved that his conduct legally justified such removal; unless he shall have resigned, or unless his retirement is considered indispensable by the government. …
Article XLI. Every functionary is bound to pay respect to his superior, but obedience is only due orders given within the limits defined by the law. In respect of acts contrary to law, the fact of having obeyed a superior will not relieve the official who has carried them out from responsibility.
The General Assembly
Article XLII. The General Assembly is composed of two chambers: the Chamber of Notables or Senate, and the Chamber of Deputies.
Article XLIII. The two chambers will meet on the 1st of November of each year, the opening to take place by imperial iradé [decree], the closing, fixed for the following 1st of March, also to take place following an imperial iradé. Neither of the two chambers can meet while the other chamber is not sitting. …
Article LIV. Bills prepared by the Council of State are submitted in the first place to the Chamber of Deputies, and in second place to the Senate. These bills do not have the force of law unless, after having been adopted by the two chambers, they are sanctioned by imperial iradé. All bills finally rejected by one of the two chambers cannot be resubmitted for deliberation in the course of the same session. …
Article LVIII. The deliberations of the chambers are carried out in the Turkish language. …
The Senate
Article LX. The president and members of the Senate are directly named by His Majesty the Sultan. The number of senators shall not exceed one third of the number of the Chamber of Deputies. …
Article LXII. Senators are named for life. …
Article LXIV. The Senate examines the bills or the budget transmitted by the Chamber of Deputies. If in the course of an examination of a bill the Senate finds a disposition contrary to the sovereign rights of his Majesty the Sultan, to liberty, to the constitution, to the territorial integrity of the empire to the internal security of the country, to the interests of national defense, or to good morals, it rejects it finally by a vote showing its reasons for doing so, or it returns it finally by a vote to the Chamber of Deputies, with the demand that it be amended or modified in the sense of its observations. The bills it accepts it shall confirm and transmit to the grand vizier. The Senate shall examine the petitions which are presented to it; it will transmit these to the grand vizier, if it thinks it necessary, accompanied by its observations.
The Chamber of Deputies
Article LXV. The number of deputies is fixed at one deputy for every 50,000 male Ottoman subjects. …
Article LXIX. The general elections for the Chamber of Deputies shall take place every four years. The mandate for each deputy is for four years only; but he may be re-elected. …
Article LXXI. Every member of the Chamber of Deputies is the representative not exclusively of the constituency which has elected him but of all Ottomans.
Article LXXII. Electors are bound to choose their deputies from among the inhabitants of the province to which they belong. …
Article LXXX. The Chamber of Deputies discusses the bills which are submitted.
It adopts, amends, or rejects dispositions concerning finances or the constitution.
It examines, in detail, the general expenditures of the state included in the budget law, and it fixes the amount with the ministers. It also determines, in accord with the ministers, the nature, the amount, and the means of distribution and of levying the revenues destined to meet expenses.
The Law Courts
Article LXXXI. The judges nominated in conformity with the special law on this subject and furnished with the patent of investiture are irremovable, but they can resign. …
Article LXXXII. The sittings of all tribunals are public. The publication of judgments is authorized. Nevertheless, in cases specified by law, the tribunal may sit with closed doors. …
Article XC. No judge can combine his functions with other functions paid by the state. …
High Court of Justice
Article XCII. The High Court is formed of thirty members, of whom ten are senators, ten councillors of state, and ten chosen among the presidents and members of the Court of Cassation and the Court of Appeal.
All members are nominated by lot.
The High Court is convoked, when necessary, by imperial iradé, and assembles in the senate building.
Its functions consist in trying the ministers, the president, and the members of the Court of Cassation, and all other persons accused of treason or attempts against the safety of the State.
Article XCIII. The High Court is composed of two chambers—the Chamber of Accusation and the Chamber of Judgment. …
Provincial Administration. Councils
Article CVIII. The administration of provinces shall be based on the principle of decentralization. The details of this organization shall be fixed by law.
Article CIX. A special law will settle on wider bases the election of administrative councils of provinces (“vilayets”), districts (“sandjaks”), and cantons (“cazas”), as also of the Council-General, which meets annually in the chief town of each province.
Article CX. The functions of the Provincial Council-General shall be fixed by the same special law, and shall comprise:—The right of deliberating on matters of public utility, such as the establishment of means of communication, the organization of agricultural credit banks, the development of manufacturers, commerce, and agriculture, and the diffusion of education. …
Article CXI. There shall be in every canton a council apportioning to each of the different (religious) confessions. This council will be charged with controlling—
1.The administration of the revenues of the real property of pious foundations (“vakoufs”), the special destination of which is fixed by the express provisions of the founders or by custom.
2.The employment of funds or properties assigned by testamentary provision to acts of charity or beneficence.
3.The administration of funds for orphans, in conformity with the special regulation covering the matter.
Each council shall be composed of members elected by the community it represents, conformably to special rules to be established. Those councils will be subordinated to the local authorities and the councils-general of provinces.
Article CXII. Municipal business will be administered at Constantinople and in the provinces by elected Municipal Councils. …
Various Provisions
State of Siege
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p; Article CXIII. In the case of the perpetration of acts, or the appearance of indications of a nature to presage disturbance at any point on the territory of the empire, the imperial government has the right to proclaim a state of siege there.
The state of siege consists in the temporary suspension of the civil laws.
The mode of administering localities under a state of siege will be regulated by a special law.
Expulsion of Persons Dangerous to the State
His Majesty the Sultan has the exclusive right of expelling from the territory of the empire those who, in consequence of trustworthy information obtained by the police, are recognized as dangerous to the safety of the state.
Primary Education
Article CXIV. Primary education will be obligatory on all Ottomans. The details of application will be fixed by a special law.
Execution of Constitution
Article CXV. No provision of the constitution can, under any pretext whatsoever, be suspended or neglected.
Modifications in Constitutions on Certain Conditions
Article CXVI. In case of duly proved necessity, the constitution may be modified in some of its provisions. This modification is subordinated to the following conditions:—
Every proposal of modification, whether presented by the minister or by either of the two chambers, must be, in the first instance, submitted to the deliberations of the Chamber of Deputies.
If the proposition is approved by two-thirds of the members of the chamber it shall be forwarded to the Senate.
In case the Senate also adopts the proposed modification by a two-thirds majority, it shall be submitted for the sanction of His Majesty the Sultan.
If it is sanctioned by the imperial iradé it shall have force of law.
Articles of the constitution, which it is proposed to modify, remain in force until the modification, after having been voted by the chambers, shall have been sanctioned by imperial iradé.
Interpretation of Laws
Article CXVII. The Court of Cassation will interpret the civil and penal laws; the Council of State administrative laws; and the Senate the articles of the constitution.
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