IN THE COURTS OF THE NATIONS - DataSpace - Princeton ...

ecause he felt that the Toledanos were more likely to tell the truth if they swore on the scrolls of
their sacred text. 78
Finally, Jewish foreign subjects and protégés sometimes chose to cover all their bases by
obtaining legal documentation notarized by both ‘udūl and sofrim. For instance, Jewish protégés
submitted proofs of real estate ownership from both Jewish and sharī‘a courts. 79 This is not
surprising given the relative frequency with which Jews notarized their real estate transactions in
both legal systems. Jews also drew on both ‘udūl and sofrim for proof in criminal cases.
Ya‘aqov Siboni, a French protégé, employed this strategy when trying to prove his claim that he
was robbed; he presented a deposition notarized by ‘udūl and another one notarized by sofrim to
the French ambassador as evidence supporting his case. 80
Close examination of the quotidian functioning of consular courts shows the extent to
which Islamic and even Jewish legal documents remained central to the legal lives of foreign
subjects and protégés. This was so in part because so many cases fell under Moroccan
jurisdiction, and in part because the notarization of ‘udūl became the standard by which legal
documents were judged to be reliable.
There is little question, then, that even without actually bringing their cases before sharī‘a
or Makhzan courts, foreign subjects and protégés continued to make extensive use of Islamic
legal institutions even after they obtained extraterritorial status. Yet in many instances, Jews
with foreign nationality or protection deliberately tried to have their legal disputes adjudicated in
Makhzan or sharī‘a courts. The following two sections look closely at select instances in which
78
In the end, Buy and the Toledanos came to a settlement without the Toledanos swearing on the Torah: see Tanger
B 1326, Buy to Vernouillet, 8 January 1881.
79
USNA, Reg. 84, v. 24, Broome to Mathews, 22 November 1891; USNA, Reg. 84, Box # 1, Bensusan v. Meir
Cohen, 1897.
80
MAE Nantes, Tanger A 161, Siboni to Ordega, 20 September 1884. For similar criminal cases, see also MAE
Nantes, Tanger A 165, Touboul to Ḥājj Ḥamādī al-Wujdī (the French consul in Fez), 2 Av 5646/ 3 August 1886;
Réclamation Zekri, 1893-6; MAE Nantes, Tanger A 164, Elie Signoret to Féraud, 31 July 1888.
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