The distant history of Istanbul University can be traced back to the conquest of Istanbul by Sultan Mehmed, the Conqueror. After the conquest of the city, Mehmed aimed to establish the first madrasah in İstanbul, Zeyrek. Istanbul University Faculty of Law is the successor of this heritage. Law education in a modern manner first arose as a result of the centralization idea of the state, in the context of the Modernization of Ottoman Empire. The institutions named Mekteb-i Maarif-i Adliye (1839) and Mekteb-i Ulûm-ı Edebiye (1839), which were established to train civil servants to implement the reforms, are the pioneers of the law schools. In this context, Mekteb-i Fünûn-ı Mülkiye (1859), which formed the basis of Mekteb-i Mülkiye-i Şâhâne (1877), and Tercüme Odası, which gave a wide place to law education in its program, should also be remembered.

The first law school in our country was introduced by the Sheikh-ul-Islam under the name of Muallimhane-i Nüvvâb (1855). After the establishment and regulation of the Divan-ı Ahkâm-ı Adliye (1868) and the regular courts, a modern legal education curriculum emerged. The Kavânîn and Nizamât Dershanesi (1870), which was opened under the Divan-ı Ahkâm-ı Adliye Nezareti, was the first law school in this framework. Continuing, came the Mekteb-i Hukuk-ı Sultanî (Mekteb-i Sultanî Law School, 1874), which was one of the institutions opened within the Mekteb-i Sultanî. Even though these initiatives were not long-lasting, the crucial role they played for the development of the idea of law school is undeniable.

Mekteb-i Hukuk-ı Şâhâne was established on 7 November 1878 in an environment where almost all legal fields were studied, the court organization was completely arranged and the constitutional administrative experience was evolved. Between the Sultanahmet and Hagia Sophia Mosques, the building in the garden of the Ministry of Justice was built within two years and the teaching started on Thursday, 17 June 1880. Mekteb-i Hukuk stands out as an experience in which stability has been achieved in the law schooling in our country. The law schools of Thessaloniki, Konya, Baghdad, Beirut and Ankara will also share this experience in the years to come. Nevertheless, the heritage of Mekteb-i Hukuk is gathered in Istanbul University Faculty of Law in terms of institutional continuity. The developments after the Tanzimat serve the purpose of establishing a faculty which has the capacity to meet the needs of Turkey and which catches up with the educational standard of European faculties. Istanbul University Faculty of Law had collected and unified all the developments and innovations regarding law education before the proclamation of the Republic.

    As stated clearly in the documents regarding its establishment, Mekteb-i Hukuk was thought to be a subsidiary of the Darülfünun. Due to the unsuccessful attempts to establish the Darülfunun, Mekteb-i Hukuk had worked independently for 22 years. After the Darülfünun-ı Şâhâne (1900) was established as a consequence of the 25th anniversary of Abdülhamid II’s accession to the throne, Mekteb-i Hukuk was assumed to be a subsidiary of the Darülfunun; as a subsidiary which was established and which formed its customs before the Darülfunun, it became a model for the other subsidiaries (Literature, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Theology).

    The name of our Faculty was changed as Darülfünun-ı Osmanî Faculty of Law after the proclamation of The Second Constitutionalist Period, as Hukuk Medresesi after the 1919 Darülfünun Regulations, as İstanbul Darülfünunu Faculty of Law according to statute no.493 dated 1924 after the proclamation of the Republic. Our faculty acquired a legal personality with the 1919 Regulations and the statute dated 1924 verified this autonomous structure. Based on the report of Swiss Prof. Dr. Albert Mache dated 29 May 1932; on 31 July 1933 with the statute no.2252, Darülfünun was abolished and Istanbul University was organized. After this innovation known as 1933 Reform; the Faculty of Law entered into a new period with the people transferred from the Darülfünun to University, with the professors who had to leave Germany and took refuge in Turkey and with young generation academicians. Istanbul University Faculty of Law maintained to be a pioneer on academic studies, legislation movements and law education during this period as well.