Türkiye Barolar Birliği Law Museum

Türkiye Barolar Birliği Hukuk Müzesi is Türkiye’s first and only law museum, inaugurated on 5 April 2012 on Lawyers’ Day. Operated under the authority of the Türkiye Barolar Birliği Management Board with the status of a private museum, it is officially registered by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Its collection includes documents, artifacts and artistic works from various historical periods that visually reflect the historical development of law.

Türkiye Barolar Birliği Hukuk Müzesi (Türkiye Culture Portal)

Founding and History

The foundation of the Türkiye Barolar Birliği Hukuk Müzesi traces back to the Ankara Barosu Hukuk Müzesi, opened on 21 December 2005 during the presidency of the Ankara Bar Association by lawyer Vedat Ahsen Coşar at the Ankara Bar Association Education Center. At that time, lawyer Argun Bozkurt served as curator of the museum.

On 2 February 2012, the artifacts housed in the Ankara Barosu Hukuk Müzesi were transferred to the Türkiye Barolar Birliği during the presidencies of Professor Metin Feyzioğlu of the Ankara Bar Association and Vedat Ahsen Coşar of the Türkiye Barolar Birliği. The museum was opened to the public on 5 April 2012 as part of Lawyers’ Week.

Between 6 June and 1 November 2018, the museum underwent a comprehensive renovation: its interior decoration and exhibition techniques were updated, and the displayed artifacts were reorganized. During this period, the conservation status of diplomas, licenses and various documents in the collection was assessed, and conservation and restoration work was carried out by the Faculty of Fine Arts at Ankara University in accordance with the criteria of the International Council of Museums (ICOM). The official reopening of the museum took place on 9 October 2019 following these efforts.

Collection

The museum’s collection features a variety of artifacts, documents and artworks that illustrate the historical development of law. These include:

• Reproductions of cuneiform tablets
• Clothing and judicial robes of Ottoman-era legal professionals
• Ottoman-language legal texts
• Documents related to historically significant cases
• Diplomas and licenses
• Writing sets and typewriters belonging to legal practitioners
• Legal documents, ephemera, photographs and postcards
• Philatelic materials
• Sculptures and artistic objects

A total of 421 artifacts are on display. The collection visually presents the social and intellectual evolution of law from mythology to the present day.

Education and Activities

The museum is not limited to exhibition functions; it also hosts educational initiatives aimed at fostering legal awareness in society. Through programs designed for children, youth and adults, participants are brought into dialogue with art, and are given opportunities to experience the relationship between law and art through activities that emphasize interpretation and creative thinking.

Through workshop practices, the museum conveys the sense that it is an integral part of social life and raises awareness that legal history and legal knowledge can be integrated with art.