Tehcir Law The Tehcir Law ( from " tehcir " , a word of Arabic origin in Ottoman Turkish and meaning " displacement , " as defined by the Turkish Language Institute ) , or , officially , the " Sevk ve İskân Kanunu " ( Dispatchment and Settlement Law ) ) was a temporary law passed by the Ottoman Parliament on May 27 , 1915 authorizing the deportation of the Ottoman Empire ' s Armenian population . The resettlement campaign resulted in the deaths of anywhere between 600 , 000 to over 1 , 800 , 000 civilians , and is commonly referred to as the Armenian Genocide . The bill was officially enacted on June 1 , 1915 and expired on February 8 , 1916 . Issues . The Tehcir Law was part of the " special measures " against the Armenian population taken by the Ottoman Empire during World War I . This was coupled with a second set of orders given to the Special Organization for the elimination of the evacuated population , also including the alleged taking care of the vacated properties . Ottoman archives document that Armenian deportations started as early as March 2 . 1915 . After the expiration of the Tehcir Law deportations and massacres still followed . On September 13 , 1915 , the Ottoman parliament passed the " Temporary Law of Expropriation and Confiscation , " stating that all property , including land , livestock , and homes belonging to Armenians , was to be confiscated by the authorities . The background of the legislation . Before the Ottoman parliament implemented the " Tehcir Law " , there was a circular by Talaat Pasha . In the night of April 24 , 1915 , Mehmed Talaat Bey , who was the minister of interior at the time , ordered 250 Armenian intellectuals to be deported from the Ottoman capital . In May 1915 , Mehmed Talaat requested that the cabinet and Grand Vizier Said Halim Pasha legalize a measure for relocation and settlement of Armenians to other places due to what Talat called " the Armenian riots and massacres , which had arisen in a number of places in the country " are a threat to national security . " The nature of the law . Tehcir Law was a temporary law that expired on February 8 , 1916 . It was a civil law , planned , implemented and enforced with an office ( created by the law ) to coordinate the activities under the name of “ Migrant General Directorate ” ( Turkish : Göçmen Genel Müdürlüğü ) . The civil law gave the military an enforcing power only if there were opposing parties to the implementation . The rules and regulations of the law , as published in the " Takvim - i Vekayi " ( Ottoman official newspaper ) , were public and they were shared with all parties . The question of the law . Tehcir Law publicly was allegedly about ( 1 ) the military measures against those opposing government orders , country ’ s defense , and the protection of peace ; and against those organizing armed attacks and resistance , and killing rebels during aggression and uprising in wartime , ( 2 ) the transfer and resettlement on a single basis or en masse , the people living in villages and towns who are found to be engaged in espionage or treason , ( 3 ) the temporary law ’ s effect and expiration , and ( 4 ) the definition of the responsible parties ( application ) . One Ottoman Archival material dated July 12 suggest that massacres were part of those measures implemented against the Armenians . The Turkish Martial Court supports this by referring to documents that claim that the main reason for the evacuation was annihilation . The subject of the law . Although this law was directed against one particular ethnic group ( Armenian ) the Assyrian population also fell victim as did some Christians from the East . In the text of the law , there is no explicit mention that Armenians were the main target , and the text notes that ( 1 ) the ill , ( 2 ) the blind , ( 3 ) Catholics , ( 4 ) Protestants , ( 5 ) the soldiers and their families , ( 6 ) the officers , ( 7 ) merchants , some workers and masters were not subject to evacuation . < ref name = " Coding Office , no 56 / 27 ; no 67 / 186 " > Coding Office , no 56 / 27 ; no 67 / 186 < / ref > If conditions got worse , these groups are ordered to be settled in the city centers . Capitulations of the Ottoman Empire granted missionaries a protectorate state ( see : Protectorate of missions ) . There is a group of rules that grant rights to missionaries under the Ottoman Empire . Another decipher orders the Catholic Armenian Missionaries not to leave the Ottoman Empire until the next order . This message was not respected in some centers , such as Maraş and Konya . Rights of subject of the law . The alleged intention of the law , which was published during World War I , was a temporary movement of the citizens during the conflicts and not the permanent displacement as there was a decree ( regulation , or adjunct ) with respect to the relocated citizens by the " Tehcir Law " who wanted to return ; claimed " except those people [ affected by the Tehcir Law ] , no one else will be touched . " Also if we look at the fourth section of the Tehcir law , it was specifically designed to hold the enforcer units responsible to follow up and record the properties owned by the subjects of the immigration . The law included a responsible party for the protection of properties the owners could / will return in a later term . Another law was passed to regulate the enforcement of this section On 10 June 1915 . In this section , it was demanded that there would be three copies of this information ; one kept in the regional churches , one in the regional administration , and one kept by the commission responsible for the execution of the law . The second and third parties of this law were held responsible for the protection of the properties until the immigrants ' return . While on the surface the law was allegedly temporary , the main reason of the law was to settle the Armenian issue once for all , therefore permanent . Kamuran Gurun has released archival material from the minister of war that provides the aim of passing the law . In that letter Enver takes it as permanent and not temporary with the aim of fixing the Armenian " problem " once and for all . While it is claimed that the debts of the evacuated population were to be completely canceled , and recurring tax debts ( property tax ) of the Armenians were postponed until they returned , the Armenian properties were seized by the government , sold or given to the Muslim residents or given to Muslim immigrants . A significant amount of money made from the sale of the seized properties was transferred and secured in Berlin . The financial burden of the law . A fund was initiated with the law . The control of the fund was assigned to director Şükrü Bey , a directorate under the immigrants general office ( Immigrant and Tribe Settling ) . He was accused of complicity during the Martial court in the destruction of the Armenian population . Also considered to maintain the link between the Ittihadists and the special organization . From the documents : Also , the Ottoman government under the international agreements assigned within the capitulations , enabled fund transfers using the missionaries and consuls . Armenian immigrants from the United States sent funds , which were distributed to the Armenians under the knowledge of the government by these institutions . The " American Near East Relief Committee " , a relief organization for refugees in the Middle East , helped donate over $ 102 million to Armenians both during and after the war . It has to be noted that the funds within the provinces aided the immigrants , whose money allocations were sent under provincial budgets depending on the condition of needs . Those are contradicted by the Ottoman barring access to its own allies relief to the starving Armenian population . The application of the law . The law was a selective law as explained under " The subject of the law " . According to Turkish presented sources , the list covers the citizens of the Ottoman Empire that were affected by the law . Abolishment of the law . The law was abolished on February 21 , 1916 , with an order sent to all Ottoman provinces , while the destruction of the Armenian population continued also claimed political detainees continued to be displaced to Der Zor province . All the activities finalized on March 15 , 1916 .