The ottoman kadi and his subordinates in Kosovo, during the years 1700-1800

Abstract

All citizens were treated equally before the “Kanun (Qanun)”, according to the then-current Ottoman law. The magistrate of justice was “Kadi”. The appointment of the Kadi, was made by Sultan's decree, or by the main representative of the Sultan in “Ejalet”, “Kadiasqeri”, provided that “Sheikh Hulislami” (Islamic Scholar) approved the nomination. The limit on the length of the Kadi's service in a “Kaza” (administrative division), was set at two years in order to prevent the Kadi from developing relationships with influential city figures that would affect the Kaza's decisions. Magistrate official capacity of the Kadi’s function, as a judge in the Albanian areas, respectively in Kosova, is among the very few topics studied by our historiography. In order to contribute for enlighten this issue, we provided Ottoman documentary data on the activities of “Kadi, Naib and Muhzir” in 18th century Kosovo, as the main officials of the Ottoman legal system in this region.