Land Rights in Nineteenth-Century Ottoman State Succession Treaties

Ottoman state practice in the field of state succession in the nineteenth century displays strict adherence to European notions of international law. This is evident from the ratification of cession treaties, attention to reciprocity, the use of mediation, reliance on existing laws of war principles, including the legal effects of occupation, conquest and the rights and duties of belligerents. The chapter focuses on state succession treaties with Greece as this represents the paradigm for all future treaties, examining the Islamic origin of Ottoman land regulation. The Ottomans succeed in attaching a further condition to their cession arrangements with the new Greek state, namely the latter's obligation to respect the property rights of Muslim citizens. This brings into play the application of Ottoman land law, which Greece is under no obligation to succeed to. This body of law, particularly the set of property rights bestowed under it, becomes a focal point in the ensuing state succession negotiations. It is the actual basis of Muslim property rights - a precursor to contemporary property rights - and a sine qua non element of Ottoman practice in the law of state succession. In this light, Ottoman land law and institutions should correctly be considered as general principles of law - with origins from the Qur'an and the early caliphates - as well as regional custom, at least in the territories liberated from Ottoman rule and which continued to apply and enforce it not only to Muslims but also in the property relations of the indigenous ethnic communities.