Hâkimin Zor Kararı: Vankulu Mehmet Efendi'nin Tercîhu'l-Beyyinât'ı Çerçevesinde Delillerin Çakışması Durumunda Takip Edilecek Yöntem.

This study examines the principles established by an Ottoman qadi who lived in the 16th century regarding the selection of conflicting pieces of evidence. It is well-known that reaching a just decision in a trial is possible through the careful evaluation of the evidence presented in court. Indeed, one of the most critical aspects of judicial proceedings is the evidence presented before the court, and the qadi endeavors to reach a fair decision by assessing this evidence. However, one of the primary challenges encountered at this stage is when contradictory evidence is presented to the court by the parties involved in the case. In such situations, arriving at the correct decision is only possible through the judicious selection of evidence that will lead to an accurate verdict among these conflicting pieces of evidence. This study focuses on the preference principles discussed by Vankulu Mehmet Efendi (d. 1000/1592) in his work titled Tarjih al-Bayyinat. As far as we can ascertain, this work is the earliest to address preference principles among evidence. Vankulu Mehmet Efendi was a scholar who lived in the Ottoman Empire during the 16th century and held significant positions such as muderris, mufti, and kaddish in various regions of the Ottoman state. The author has contributed works in the fields of jurisprudence (fiqh) and linguistics. Tarjîh al-Bayyinat is a relatively unstudied work that provides guidance on how to resolve conflicting evidence presented by parties in a legal case. Furthermore, this study aims to shed light on the level of advancement in the procedural aspects of adjudication during the author's era. Therefore, in addition to a detailed analysis of the principles identified by the author, this study seeks to determine the sources from which the author derived these principles. By doing so, it endeavors to contribute to an understanding of the sources that Ottoman qadis of the time relied upon when establishing their principles for judicial proceedings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]