Court Registers Research Articles

Information technology and its role in the activities of judicial institutions

The article is devoted to the definition of the month and the role of information technology in the activities of judicial authorities. It is established that information technology is a set of methods and tools designed for effective work with information. Regardless of how technologies change or how they are used in various spheres of public life, their main purpose remains unchanged - to ensure the collection, processing, accumulation and use of information. It is substantiated that the integrated use of information technologies in the administration of justice is considered to be one of the key elements of a significant improvement of the functioning of the judicial system of Ukraine. The possibility of online access to court registers, information on the stages of court proceedings, and electronic exchange of legal documents are just a few examples which have become possible due to the introduction of information technology into the work of domestic courts. This type of technology can be used to increase the transparency and accountability of the judiciary, thereby helping it to perform its functions and duties in a more efficient manner. Modern technologies allow judges and court staff to access large electronic databases, including case law and regulations, which greatly simplifies and speeds up the decision-making process. The ability to use e-mail and other digital communication tools has ensured efficiency and convenience in the exchange of information between all participants in the judicial process. Another important achievement is that citizens can now apply to the court electronically, making justice more accessible and convenient. This innovation reduces barriers to going to court, speeds up the process of submitting documents and allows participants in the proceedings to track their progress in real time. Thus, information technology not only facilitates the work of courts, but also makes justice more transparent, accessible and efficient, which ultimately increases public confidence in the judicial system as a whole. The use of information technology together with the Internet has opened up the judicial system to the public.

Identity, Clothing, and Criminal Mobility in Early Modern Ottoman Society

In the early modern Ottoman Empire, social identity was closely tied to a hierarchical structure, with the sultanate occupying the highest tier and ordinary subjects positioned at the lower end. Empire’s inhabitants were divided into groups based on the style and color of their clothes. By dressing in clothing from a different gender, socioeconomic class, or ethnoreligious group, one could disguise their true identity and social status. This article endeavors to unveil the motivations that compelled ordinary people to employ clothing as a means to conceal their involvement in criminal activities. Furthermore, it investigates the constraints associated with common identity-altering practices, particularly from the vantage points of religion, gender, and intersectionality. Drawing from an array of archival sources such as mühimme records, chronicles, manuscripts, and qadi court registers, the article scrutinizes the consequences of these practices.

Disconnect: The International Criminal Court’s Engagement in the Situation in Bangladesh/Myanmar

Abstract The International Criminal Court (icc) Registry’s reports on information and outreach activities concerning Bangladesh and Myanmar speak of two worlds. One, of a public affairs-focused managerial institution, and another of diverse priorities, insecurity, and complicated interactions among communities, organisations and states. To meet their aims and purposes, international criminal mechanisms must engage with other actors. Researchers have identified ‘lessons’ for conducting effective communications, including outreach, for information dissemination, building support, and conducting legitimate and safe trials. This article analyses documents and draws on limited interviews to explore how, despite these insights being represented in icc strategies, disconnection between the icc and interested actors in the pre-trial Bangladesh/Myanmar situation persists. It argues that the icc’s continued failure to integrate experiences or its own strategies for two-way communication undermines its ability to fulfil its purposes.

A Study on the Visibility of Jews in Ottoman Courts: The Example of Hasköy Court (1612–1643)

This study examines the commercial, social and legal relations of Jews in the Ottoman Empire through the records of Hasköy Court Registry No. 5. Ottoman court registers are significant sources that provide valuable information in many areas such as social life, family life, economic activities and law in the Ottoman Empire. They can be used effectively in studies on the Jewish community. Contrary to common sense, Jews frequently applied to the Ottoman courts not only in their cases with other communities but also in cases involving various issues among themselves. These applications also show that Jews did not keep themselves self-enclosed and interacted with the involved society.

Several documents on Isa Bey’s tekke in Sarajevo (II)

There is no archival record connecting the zawiya founded by Gazi Isa Bey in Sarajevo (1462) to a dervish order (tariqat) till the end of the 18th century. Then, suddenly, with the appearance of Sheikh Osman Dede, Isa Bey’s zawiya began to be mentioned alongside the Mevlevi tariqat. This change took place when Sheikh Osman Dede, one of the dervishes of the Hacı Sinan Kadirî tekke in Sarajevo, became the sheikh of the Hacı Mahmud Mevlevi tekke and claimed that it was actually Isa Bey’s zawiya. At first, he convinced the authorities that the two lodges were one and the same, and even repaired the Mevlevi tekke with the income of the waqf of Isa Bey’s zawiya. He then further claimed that the waqf’s tawliyat (the right to manage the waqf) belonged to the sheikhs of the zawiya based on the waqf’ regulations, and took over the tawliyat of the waqf and appropriated the waqf’s property. Thus, a tawliyat lawsuit that would last for many years arose between the trustee of the zawiya foundation represented by Osman bin Mustafa residing in Skopje, from the lineage of İsa bey, and the new trustee of the foundation represented by Sheikh Osman Dede. The documents presented in this case reveal that certain aspects such as whether or not Isa Bey’s zawiya is really Mevlevi, which side has the right to the tawliyat of the zawiya’s waqf, and the conditions of endowment in the foundation charter (waqfiya) etc., have been questioned. Various types of documents found in the Ottoman Archive (Ottoman Archive of the Presidency of the Government - BOA) and in the Archives of the General Directorate of Waqfs in Ankara that shed light on the claims and events related to Isa Bey’s zawiya and its waqf starting from the time Sheikh Osman Dede became a Mevlevi sheikh, constituting the first part of this study, have already been published under the title “Several Documents About Isa Bey’s Tekke in Sarajevo (I)”. In this study, the documents from the Sarajevo court registers (sharia sijjils) held at Gazi Husrev’s Bey Library in Sarajevo, will be discussed. In a way, this study implements the documents already discussed in the earlier publication. These new documents that question the generally accepted claim that Isa Bey founded the zawiya as a Mevlevi and reveal the name of Haci Mahmud as the founder of the Mevlevi tekke are of extreme importance and may completely alter the history of the tariqats in Sarajevo all together. These documents are also of great importance not only for the research of the waqf institutions, but also for the research of legal history through the prism of the institution of the qadi and the functioning of the court.

The procedure of the judicial control on bail

Preventive measures represent a type of coercive procedural measures through which the authority’s judicial systems attempt to restrict the defendant's freedom of movement to ensure that trials criminal proceedings are carried out accordingly. From this point of view, preventive measures reach their goal the objective by interfering with the defendant's individual liberty to the minimum necessary or by his deprivation for a certain period of time. The use of bail as a preventive measure was seen as a way to avoid use measure correctional. The bond represent depositing a sum of money at the court registry by a person against whom it is in during a criminal procedure, being designed as an alternative to prison, this changing the perception of procedural institutions of judicial control on bail. The evolution of the institution led to the emergence of a new profession, that of professional guarantor, which fulfills a function similar to that of a banking service, using own funds to guarantee the release in exchange for a fee. Therefore, we must remain aware that a significant control action judicial bail will only be achieved when attention is focused on these issues important. Pretrial justice ultimately depends on reaching a tipping point which can only take place when major improvements have been shown to be necessary and feasible in the period leading up to the trial. The current bail system causes hardship to defendants and cause considerable financial costs to society.

Renunciation of Inheritance in Istanbul Bāb Court Registry No. 3: Takhāruj

In the Ottoman Qadi Registers, it is seen that inheritance was shared in various ways. One of these is the takhāruj method. Takhāruj is an Islamic inheritance law term that refers to the renunciation of inheritance rights by heirs in exchange for property or for nothing. Based on court records, it is possible to see how people in Ottoman Istanbul three and a half centuries ago fought over their inheritance rights. Some of the heirs who did not receive their inheritance rights preferred to settle their inheritance through takhāruj. As can be seen in the documents, none of the heirs who made settlements through takhāruj could receive their original shares or a part of their shares, and they made settlements with other heirs in return for certain amounts. This study aims to analyze the takhāruj documents in the Istanbul Qadi Registers Bâb Court Registry No. 3 (H. 1077/M.1666-1667) and to evaluate the content and results of the takhāruj cases that were reflected in the court. İn this research, the methods of problem identification, data collection, data analysis, and interpretation of the results were applied. Accordingly, 14 takhāruj cases were identified by scanning the Bāb Court Registry No. 3. The language (diplomatic) and content of the takhāruj documents, the parties involved in the takhāruj document, the identities of those who made settlements with this method, the amounts and with whom they renounced their inheritance rights were determined. It is observed that some of the heirs renounced their rights to the inheritance specified in the document and made a settlement with the person who held the inheritance. In all of the takhāruj cases in this register, the heirs made a settlement with the other heir in exchange for the amount of money specified in the document instead of their inheritance shares in the inheritance. In four of the 14 cases, the heirs settled for cash and some previous debts. In three of these cases, the participants were non-Muslims. In six of these cases, only women, in six cases, only men, and in two cases, both male and female heirs settled with the heir who seized the inheritance (wāzı al-yad) through takhāruj. In five of these cases, the mediation of mediators (tawassut al-muslihīn - wasātat al-muslimīn) resulted in the settlement of the case through takhāruj, and in two of these five cases, there was a great deal of dispute between the heirs (munāza‘āt al- kasīra). An analysis of takhâruj cases shows that it is not possible to claim that the settling party agreed to the settlement voluntarily. As is evident in some of the cases, some heirs consented to the settlement by takhāruj because they could not receive their rights from the other heirs who held the inheritance despite their demands. It is always possible for heirs to consent to takhāruj because the Sharī'ah courts do not intervene in inheritance matters without a request (although the right to intervene is reserved in some cases), the kassāms collect a certain amount of tax called resm-i kısmet from the inheritance if the heirs demand division, and the uneasiness of bringing family matters to court. Since takhāruj documents are in the nature of a charge, the release of the other party’s liability by the one who consented to the settlement was recorded, and possible future inheritance claims were prevented. Although takhāruj, which is seen as one of the ways to solve historical problems related to inheritance, seems to solve problems as a type of settlement, the satisfaction of the party consenting to takhāruj is questionable. Historical records also show that inheritance disputes are an ancient problem of humanity.

Married Women, Testaments and Property in Sixteenth-Century Scotland

This article responds to the debate about married women’s legal position in pre-modern Scotland and how it compared with neighbouring countries, particularly whether married women could own property and of what that might consist. While many studies centre theoretical discussions and focus on the seventeenth century onwards, this article centres sixteenth-century records of practice by appraising the 14,664 testamentary documents that survive in court registers in the National Records of Scotland. The study of these records reveals that testaments made by married women outnumber those made by widows (having verified, for example, that those women indexed as ‘sometime spouse’ were married at the time of death). The nature of these records, which include inventories as well as last wills, allows insight into the material household and married women’s role in the ownership and disposal of this property. The article demonstrates that many married women claimed more than paraphernalia (clothing and jewellery) and that some even tried to give away more than the third or half share routinely allocated to them. It also finds clear references to property being held in common.

Types of Political Administration and the Rule of Sultan Abdülhamid II According to Cemil Molla, One of the Last Ottoman Period Scholars

Cemil Molla, Osmanlı Devleti’nde 17. yüzyıldan itibaren ilmiye sınıfının çeşitli üst kademelerinde görev yapmış bir ulema ailesi olan Üryanizâdelerin son temsilcilerinden biri olarak Osmanlı bürokrasisinde çeşitli görevler almıştır. Ulema ailesinin geleneksel eğitim anlayışı çerçevesinde İslâmî ilimleri tahsil ettikten sonra müspet ilimlerde, özellikle hukuk alanında söz sahibi olabilecek kadar eğitim alma fırsatı bulmuştur. Cemil Molla’nın daha önce basılmamış Dağarcığım adıyla bilinen hatıratı bu çalışmanın ana kaynağıdır. Bu çalışmada, hatırattan yola çıkılarak padişaha ve saraya yakınlığı ile tanınan Osmanlı’nın son dönem ulemasından Cemil Molla’nın siyasal yönetim biçimlerine ve II. Abdülhamid iktidarına yönelik fikirlerinin yansıtılması amaçlanmıştır. Ayrıca söz konusu döneme tanıklık etmiş aydın ve bürokratların yönetim anlayışları ve bu konudaki temel iddialarına değinilmiştir. Dönemin mutlakiyet ve meşrutiyet yönetim biçimlerine dair tartışmaları çerçevesinde Cemil Molla’nın zihin dünyasına ışık tutulmaya çalışılmıştır. Konu ile ilgili araştırma eserleri ve makalelerin yanı sıra biyografi kaynaklarından, vakanüvis tarihlerinden, Aile Özel Arşivi’nden, Cumhurbaşkanlığı Devlet Arşivleri ve İstanbul Müftülüğü Şer’iyye Sicilleri Arşivi’nden istifade edilmiştir.

An Ottoman Imperial City in Transition: Transformation of Urban Governance in Edirne (18th -19th Centuries)

Modern historiography has a consensus over Edirne’s well-established socio-spatial and political position that reached its peak during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. In this period, the city gained a de facto capital status as consecutive Ottoman sultans permanently resided in Edirne. While the physical presence of the Ottoman sultans and imperial institutions in Edirne brought about a spatial and demographic stability to the city until the late eighteenth century, Edirne witnessed major transformations through new imperial implementations throughout the nineteenth century. Furthermore, the new reforms brought about the proportional participation of city dwellers in the city’s governance, including the non-Muslims. Based on Ottoman archival sources and Muslim court registers of Edirne, the present paper investigates how the reforms of the nineteenth century transformed this “imperial city” vis-à-vis its urban governance. The paper suggests that in the nineteenth century Edirne was not the same imperial city governed in a more autonomous way in the eighteenth century anymore. However, while centralization efforts meant that military, administrative and financial responsibilities in the administration of provinces were converged, now as a provincial center, Edirne maintained its position in the Tanzimat era when a more participatory system in this ethno-religiously diverse city formed.

Long-Term Changes in the Creation of New Cash Waqfs in Istanbul

In this paper, relying on information from almost 4,500 waqf deeds (vakfiye) available in Istanbul sharia court registers for the period 1550-1900, we study long-term changes in the creation of new cash waqfs including the periods of expansion, stagnation and crises. We also examine the participation of different groups—namely, officials (askeri), civilians (reaya), and women— as cash-waqf founders. We find that women were significant contributors to the waqf sector and that, contrary to a common assumption in the literature, officials’ participation as benefactors was proportional to that of other groups. Furthermore, we show that the relative shares of social groups as benefactors in the waqf sector f luctuated significantly over time. Thus, researchers should be cautious about making generalizations based on a single, set ratio of involvement as if it applies to all times and places.

FORMAL JUSTICE AND ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION ON LAND BASED CONFLICTS IN KENYA

This article highlights the use of formal justice and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADRs) mechanisms in resolving land based conflicts in Kenya. The research employed a desk review method through the review of books, articles, documents, reports and internet information. Findings reveal that symbiotic relationship and equitable value of both the formal justice system and ADR are recognised by the Constitution of Kenya 2010. The court system in Kenya is established under the Constitution and various other Acts of Parliament land dispute suits matters are filed at the civil court registry of a lower or magistrates court or at the Environment and Land Court through its registry. On the other hand, the use of ADR mechanisms offers different advantages compared to the formal court system, including effective and efficient of resources such as time and money. It reduces the time it takes to resolve disputes, particularly in tribunals and traditional and alternative justice systems, and diminish the backlog of cases experienced by the courts. The article provides a better understanding of the two systems in terms of their merits and demerits and recommends that the Government of Kenya does more to build capacity by providing formal training at the local level in the different ADR methods to help disputants resolve conflict before it is channelled through the formal justice system. It also recommends that it create a public fund and a corresponding application process that would allow those who cannot afford to privately hire advocates to prosecute or defend their matters in Court through the said fund.

The Role of the Registry and Legal Division of the African Court of Human and People's Rights in Dispute Settlement

This Essay explores whether the African Court of Human and People's Rights’ (African Court) Registry and Legal Division have a similar expansive role in the dispute settlement mechanism as the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Secretariat. The African Court is the African Union's regional body for enforcing human rights. This Essay contributes to the scholarship on African international courts by testing the central arguments in Pauwelyn and Pelc's “Who Guards the ‘Guardians of the System’? The Role of the Secretariat in WTO Dispute Settlement”1 through a comparative analysis of the role of the Secretariat within the African Court.2 Despite the growing jurisprudence and influence of Africa's international courts, they continue to be neglected by mainstream scholarship of international courts and tribunals. This is evident in Pauwelyn and Pelc's article, which does not refer to any of Africa's seven international courts and tribunals. For that matter, the article makes no reference to any international tribunal outside Europe or the United States.3 Our analysis illustrates the fact that the influence of the African Court's Registry and Legal Division (Registry) in the process for dispute settlement is not as significant and concerning as that of the WTO Secretariat. As such, the influence of the Registry on the outcome of a case is significantly limited and does not raise any legitimacy crisis like the WTO. We attribute this disparity to the operational and structural disparities between the African Court and the WTO. In the following paragraphs, we examine each of the factors that Pauwelyn and Pelc raise concerning the influence of the WTO staff in WTO panel and Appellate Body proceedings4 in the context of the functions of the African Court Registry.

Modern legal solutions in Estonia's judicial land registers as an example of effective use of IT instruments as well as IT and legal cooperation

In search of interesting legal solutions related to the modern and effective functioning of legal land registers, the author draws attention to IT solutions used in Estonia, which has been one of the most technologically advanced countries in Europe for over fifteen years. This solution can be treated as an exemplary solution in the search for an idea for the organizational and legal strategy of the next stages of informatization of court registers. The study briefly describes the history of the development of land e-registers, with particular emphasis on legislative and technical solutions that allow for the comprehensive digitization of the application process for entry, the use of digital documents and e-archives, with an emphasis on the elimination of the paper form of land and mortgage registers. In the further part of the study, reference was made to the e-Notariat and Immovable Portal solutions, using the X-Road as operating system, which helps to exchange, check and update data. These innovations in Estonian land register translate, among others, into for regular ex officio updating of entries including factual data on real estate and data included in the population register (e.g. change of the surname of the owner in a legal event such as a marriage). The summary of the analysis is the assessment which shows that Estonia is a very good model in searching for ideas to improve the functioning of land register in Poland, however, one should take into account the differences related to the level of technological advancement or the area of the state. The susceptibility to cyber-attacks, which also target e-Estonia, is not without significance, which follows computerization and Internet addiction in the public sphere. Therefore, the harmonious development of cybersecurity is also important. It is necessary to balance the proportions between following the registers with the expectations of society and the spirit of the times, and the security of public data.

BRIEF CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING THE RESPECT FOR THE RIGHT OF DEFENCE OF THE ACCUSED PERSON DURING CRIMINAL PROSECUTION, IN THE LIGHT OF THE CASE-LAW OF THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS. CASE STUDY.

By the entry into force of the current Code of Criminal Procedure on 01.02.2014, the national legislator aimed to create a clear, accessible and predictable judicial system for all participants involved in a criminal proceeding, but also to place this system on the pillars of new principles in order to precisely respect human rights and fundamental freedoms.
 Its objectives have been specifically set out from the very preliminary theses of the adoption of the Code of Criminal Procedure, among which we mention that of establishing an appropriate balance between the requirements for an effective criminal proceeding and respect for the fundamental human rights of all participants in a criminal trial.
 This was a pressing need, because Romania ratified the European Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter E.C.H.R.) on 20.06.1994, introducing the obligation to respect it by the national judicial bodies, an aspect subsequently transposed into the internal legislation by adopting Article 20 of the Constitution (amended in 2003), as well as by introducing Article 1 (2) of the current Code of Criminal Procedure.
 Although the role of the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter E.Ct.H.R.) is not defined by a court of judicial review of the decisions adopted by the national courts, not being able to modify or abolish them, it plays a subsidiary role to the national judicial systems which subsequently must verify the compatibility of internal legislation with the mandatory requirements of the European Court.
 From the content of the File on Romania, drawn up by the Strasbourg Court Registry, published in January 2021, as well as of its Report for 2020, both published on the website of this institution, it results that between 1997 (the date of the first conviction against Romania) and December 2020, a number of 1578 judgments and decisions passed against our country, and this ranks it in the top four member countries, after Turkey (convicted in 3742 cases), Russia (convicted in 2884 cases) and Italy (convicted in 2424 cases). Statistics also show that, after Romania, there are Ukraine (convicted in 1499 cases), Poland (convicted in 1197 cases), France (convicted in 1048 cases), Bulgaria (convicted in 737 cases) and Moldova (convicted in 473 cases).
 At the end of 2020, our country was convicted in 82 cases by E.Ct.H.R., and an analysis of the violated fundamental rights shows that the most common is the right to a fair trial provided for in Article 6 of E.C.H.R. (in 82 cases) which includes the right of defence of the person accused of having committed a criminal offence in its content.
 In accordance with Article 6 (2) and (3) from E.C.H.R.: “Everyone charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law... Everyone charged with a criminal offence has the following minimum rights: to be promptly informed of the nature and cause of the accusation against him in a language which he understands and in detail...; to defend himself in person or through legal assistance of his own choosing or, if he has not sufficient means to pay for legal assistance, to be given it free when the interests of justice so require...”

Relations between Christians and Muslims in kadi court registers (sicils) and Franciscan chronicles of the 18th century

Relations between Christians and Muslims in kadi court registers (sicils) and Franciscan chronicles of the 18th century

Przepisy karne ustawy o prawie autorskim z 1926 roku w pracach ustawodawczych i praktyce sądowej. Naddruk – plagiat – strona podmiotowa – sankcje karne

The Penal Provisions of the Polish Copyright Law of 1926 in Legislative Works and Judicial Practice: Overprint – Plagiarism – the Subjective Side – Penal Sanctions This paper is the result of the continuation of ongoing studies on the penal provisions of the Polish Copyright Law of 1926. Some of the research results were presented in the article titled The Penal Provisions of the Polish Copyright Law of 1926. The History of Its Creation –Its General Characteristics –Art. 61 and Its Significance for Further Regulations, which was published in “Cracow Studies of Constitutional and Legal History”(2018, issue 4). This text is a presentation of the analysis of special provisions regulating penal liability for the offences of overprint and plagiarism. Further in the article, the notion of the subjective side is discussed in relation to the offences defined in the Polish Copyright Law of 1926 and also the penal sanctions provided for these offences. In the analysis of the specific problems, emphasis is placed on the course of works on the regulations conducted by the Codification Commission and by the Parliament as well as on the issues related to their application. This approach makes it possible to reconstruct the fundamental legal problems faced by the codifiers and subsequently by the system of justice applying the relevant regulations. The studies concerning the application of copyright law were mainly focused on the judicial practice of the District Court in Kraków. They were based on the court registers and records from the interwar period stored in the National Archives in Kraków. The archival research discovered that the cases concerning the infringement of copyright constituted barely 0.09% of all criminal cases lodged with the District Court in Kraków in the 1930s. In that period, only five persons were definitely sentenced in this respect. Even though there were few criminal cases concerning copyright infringement in the times of the Second Polish Republic, the rulings issued, especially those issued by the Supreme Court, undoubtedly influenced the formation of jurisprudence regarding the interpretation of copyright, and they continue to be cited in pertinent literature up to this day.

Textile material from Old Dongola: preliminary observations on trade and sartorial practices in the Ottoman period

The paper presents the textile material retrieved from the so-called House of the Mekk, which appears as one of the most important compounds (by size and intricate plan) of the Funj period, established in the Old Dongola citadel. The general typology of the textiles, representative of an urban settlement, is presented and two study-cases (piece-dyed blue cottons and fabrics decorated with plaid-effect pattern in white and blue) are further discussed. The textile analysis is complemented by written sources of various kinds (court registers, traveler's accounts) to provide information about trade routes and goods and also to offer a preliminary picture of the sartorial practices of the elite at Old Dongola during the Ottoman period.

Agresja szlachty na Mazowszu, w Małopolsce i Wielkopolsce w XVII w.

Aggression of the nobility in Mazovia, Lesser Poland and Greater Poland in the seventeenth century The study focuses on violence among the nobility as well as between the nobility and peasants in fifteen districts of Mazovia, Greater Poland and Lesser Poland from the late sixteenth until the end of the seventeenth century. The basis for the analysis comprises approximately 12,000 accusations of various kinds of violence (mainly inflicting wounds and killing) recorded in the court registers in each of the analysed districts. The data cover a period of 110 years. Approximately 7,900 cases concerned scuffles among the nobility, in approximately 4,400 cases — between noblemen and peasants (in 3,200 cases the perpetrators were noblemen, in 1,200 cases peasants). The author’s comparative analysis of the rise in aggression in each district is based on the average annual number of crimes committed per 100 km2 of each district. In districts with the biggest population of petty nobility (mainly in Mazovia and some districts of Greater Poland) the average annual number of acts of aggression among the nobility were several and even dozen or so times higher than in districts with small populations of petty nobility. Aggressive behaviour was to be found not only among the petty nobility in Mazovia (it was known for such behaviour especially in the seventeenth century), but also among the petty nobility in Greater Poland and Lesser Poland. Irrespective of the province of the Crown, members of this group were more inclined to resort to violence in interpersonal contacts than wealthy noblemen. Acts of aggression between the nobility and peasants were less frequent in districts inhabited by petty nobles; they were more numerous wherever wealthy nobility predominated (in most such districts injuries inflicted by peasants comprised 19–31% injuries between these two groups). In districts dominated by petty nobility peasants were almost equal opponents: in some areas of Mazovia injuries suffered by noblemen at the hand of peasants made up 40–42% of the overall number of injuries between them. What must have been of significance in these cases was a similar economic situation of both these social groups, especially the fact that many nobles worked personally on farms and their living conditions were similar to those of peasants.

Osmanlı Döneminde Tokat Şehrinin Fonksiyon Özellikleri

Bu çalışmanın amacı, Osmanlı döneminde Tokat şehrinin fonksiyon özelliklerini şehir coğrafyası açısından incelemektir. Coğrafya sistematiğine bağlı kalmak suretiyle Cumhuriyet öncesi dönemi ve belirli bir konuyu esas alarak hazırlanan şehir coğrafyası çalışmaları yok denecek kadar azdır. Bu açıdan yaklaşıldığında makale, coğrafya literatüründe ilklerden birini temsil etmektedir. Osmanlı döneminde Tokat şehrinin fonksiyonları konusunda veri ve bilgiler içeren Sivas vilayet salnameleri, Tokat şer'iyye sicilleri ve Tahrir defterleri yararlanılan temel kaynakları oluşturmaktadır. Bunların yanında yerli ve yabancı seyyahların eserleri de önemli kaynaklar arasında yer almaktadır. Yine farklı tarihlerde arazi çalışmaları yapılarak Osmanlı döneminde şehrin yayılışı ve fonksiyon alanları doğrudan yerinde incelenmiştir. Tokat yaklaşık beş asır Osmanlı idaresinde kalmıştır. Bu uzun Osmanlı döneminde Tokat, başta ticaret ve sanayi olmak üzere yönetim, eğitim, sağlık, ulaşım ve tarımı kapsayan çok fonksiyonlu bir şehir özelliğine sahip olmuştur. Bazılarının önemi zamanla değişse de bütün fonksiyonlar, birbirlerini daima desteklemiş ve böylelikle Osmanlı dönemi boyunca şehrin devamlı şekilde canlılığını ve önemini korumasına imkân sağlamıştır.