Page 14 - iyi-yonetim-ilkleri

Manual On Good Administration Principles

The work “Nasihatname” (Advise Letters) authored in the 9th Century by Tahir
Ibn Hussein, who was the Governor of Khorasan, has been the source of many
works written later on in the field of good administration.
The full text of these two pioneering works was included in the work of
Ibn Khaldun titled The Muqaddimah (an introduction to history). Both the
Muqaddimah and the works in question were first translated by Ottoman
scholars. The works in question, whose values were understood also by the
Western orientalists, were translated into Western languages in the 19th
Century and received great appreciation
The Vizier of the Seljuq Empire, Nizam Al-Mulk, provided information on many
important subjects such as the qualifications required for a more effective
administration by the public servants, and the supervision and control of their
actions in his book titled Siyasatnama (Book of Government). Siyasatnama
contains examples relevant to the supervision and control of the administrators
of the State on many subjects such as the examination of the treatment of
the tax assessors, senior administrators, Iqta owners towards the public and
supervision and investigation of the actions of the qadi security director and
mayors.

In Siyasatnama, the statesmen are advised to be fair, knowledgeable, wise,
able to assign the works to those competent in the field, responsible, humble,
accessible by the public, vigilant, careful, generous, humane, patient, and
able to decide after thinking throughly and have a steady hand on the tiller; in
particular, the book emphasises the concept of justice.
In Siyasatnama, some suggestions are made also on the functioning of Divan-I
Mezalim (Court of Atrocity), which was the ombudsman institution of the time.
In Seljuk Empire, through this mechanism, the ruler heard the complaints of
the public twice a week. The complaints were against the practices of those
administrating on behalf of the ruler; in other words, against the practices of the
administration. Moreover, there were complaints even against laws or statutes,
as well. At the end, verdicts were rendered rapidly regarding the complaints.
This mechanism functioned quite effectively. As can be understood, the
foundation of the institution of ombudsman was laid from that date forward
along with its notion of work and mission and became functional.

The Mesnevi by Rumi and Bostan (the Orchard) and Gulistan (The Rose Garden)
by Sadi were guiding works on the compliance with the principle of fairness,
refrainment from unjust behaviours, and good administration.

Advices given for the public servants objectively in these works have been
recognised even today as the basis of the good administration. These advices
lay down that the public servants should possess the following characteristics:

13