rights guaranteed in the constitution were not at all insignificant in Ottoman legal history, they were severely limited by the pronouncements of the ruler. Instead of overcoming sectarian divisions through the institution of universal representation, the elections reinforced the communitarian basis of society by allotting quotas to the various religious communities based on projections of population figures derived from the census of 1844. Furthermore, in order to appease the European powers, the Ottoman administration drafted an exceedingly uneven representational scheme that favored the European provinces by an average 2:1 ratio. See also Ottoman law General Assembly of the Ottoman Empire Constitution of Turkey Notes References (info page on book at Martin Luther University) Reference notes Further reading - author is of Kırklareli University - Updated online 8 July 2008 Publications of the constitution in print Perso-Arabic Ottoman Turkish: (Ottoman year: 1292) Latin script Ottoman Turkish: - There are reprints Official French: - Julian date 11 December 1876 Second print: - Year may be 1876, but Strauss is uncertain Armeno-Turkish Bulgarian: Greek: Arabic: - Islamic year 1293, circa 1876 Gregorian Armenian: Judaeo-Spanish: - Hebrew calendar 5637 External links - About the constitution Article on the Kanûn-ı Esâsî Copies of the constitution English translations: - Translation inclosed in dispatch No. 113 in the MS. Records, U.S. Department of State, dated December 26, 1876 (PDF version) Translation, including the "Tanzimat Fermani -- The Rescript of Gülhane – Gülhane Hatt-i Hümayunu 3 November 1839", at Bilkent University Full text of the First Ottoman Constitution (1876) - Translation posted by the Atatürk Institute of Modern Turkish History of Boğaziçi University, identity of the translator not stated. Alternate link with text of 1908 amendments. Alternate link of regular version at European University Institute Original Ottoman Turkish version (basis of translation into languages used by Muslims)- at the website of the Constitutional Court of Turkey (Modern Turkish transliteration (Ankara, 1982) with text version) French translation (the basis of translation into non-Muslim languages) published in: Annotated version: - PDF file - PDF document pages 281-298/545 - In the section "Documents historiques" (February, Chapter 10 which begins on page 319) - PDF document pages 332-343/1073 - Read online. Text available - Online on 17 January 2011 Non-Muslim languages: Greek (PDF file) from the Turkish, published by Voutyras Press, at the Veria Digital Library - From Sismanoglio Megaro of the Consulate Gen. of Greece in Istanbul ; Bulgarian Note the