THE JUDICIAL REGISTERS OF THE BAKCHISARAY/CRIMEA LAW COURT: A STUDY OF GHASB (ILLEGAL POSSESSION AND OCCUPATION) AND İTLAF (DESTRUCTION)

Abstract

Although studies on the judicial records have recently been increasingly appearing, they tend to concentrate on social, economic and administrative history. Legal analysis of the court records is not as much as expected. Most of the studies employ the registers held in Turkey. This study, however, employing the judicial records of Bakchisary/Criema, an autonomous republic of our neighbour Ukraine, does legal analysis. This work mainly concentrates on cases of ghasb and itlaf. Having given the theoretical basis of Hanafi doctrines, the cases are analysed for their legal properties. The primary purpose of this work is to explore the way in which the cases were brought to the court, and to find out how they were dealt with by the court authorities. We hope that the article will shed light on the application of Hanafi law in 17th century Crimea. In particular, it will contribute to the understanding of Hanafi law by the 17th century Crimean courts.