This article provides a close reading of the parliamentary discussions surrounding the so-called 'abandoned property law' in the Turkish National Assembly, which lasted for more than a year (1921-22). This paper studies the reasons for this prolongued discussion, arguing that deputies were struggling to understand the sub-text of the law, which, unlike the text itself, was not at all favorable for the actual owners of abandoned property in what would soon become the Republic of Turkey. As some few deputies argued, the bill also contradicted all known conceptions of law and legality.