Constitution of Albania

The present Constitution of Albania (Albanian: Kushtetuta e Shqipërisë) was adopted by the Parliament of Albania on 21 October 1998.[1] It is split up over many different acts. The document succeeded the 1976 Constitution, originally adopted at the creation of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania on 28 December 1976 and heavily amended on 29 April 1991.[2]

See also: List of constitutions of Albania

The present Constitution defines Albania as a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic.[3] It has a unicameral legislature composed of 140 members,[4] who elect the President as the head of state,[5] the Cabinet, which consists of the Prime Minister as the head of government, Deputy Prime Minister and all other Ministers.[6]

The Constitution is divided into 18 parts which sanction a parliamentary democracy, people's sovereignty and fundamental rights of the citizens as well as other important points. The Constitution is said to have fulfilled all the requirements for a modern European constitution.[7]

Due to political instability, Albania has had many constitutions during its history. The nation was initially constituted as a monarchy in 1913, briefly a republic in the 1920s, then it returned to a democratic monarchy in 1928. It later became a socialist republic until the restoration of capitalism and democracy in the 1990s.

History

Medieval period

Albanians have an old tradition for law and regulations. Among the old laws is the Kanuni i Lek Dukagjinit, a sort of constitution respected by majority of Albanians throughout centuries. The Kanun of Lekë Dukagjini, which according to some writings was codified in the 14th century, is distinguished among several Kanuns. The Kanun has provided some level of self-government for the Albanians under foreign rule and thereby democracy has been exercised. According to the Kanun, important decisions are made by Conventions of the Elderly.

Modern period

During the National Renaissance of the 19th century, Albanians founded the League of Prizren and in the meantime a provisional government for the Albanian-speaking territories of the Ottoman Empire. The 'New Kanun' was adopted as a program and statute for the governing bodies. This is often regarded as the beginning of the modern Albanian politics and diplomacy.

In 1913, Albania was recognized as an independent country, yet the European powers decided for a constitutional monarchy headed by a European monarch William of Albania. The Constitution adopted for this period did not have much effect partially due to the rebellions against the foreign king and partially due to World War I.

The 1913 borders arranged by European powers left more than half of the Albanian-speaking territories outside Albania's borders. However, right after the first World War, the nation was in danger of being re-partitioned between other countries. In opposition to this, the Albanian leaders held Congress of Lushnjë at which they decided to defend the sovereignty of their country and fight against any foreign invasions. An interim constitution, officially known as Statute, sanctioning the monarchy was also passed.

During the 1920s, Albania experienced political instability and rapid succession of governments. In 1924 a revolutionary group took over by force, while six months later Ahmet Zogu crushed the revolution. In 1925, an Albanian Republic was declared under a constitution based on the French model of the Third Republic. The Republic had a bicameral legislature (Chamber of Deputies and Senate) that elected a President, who was head of state and of government (Council of Ministers) for a seven-year term. The President was vested with fairly broad—almost dictatorial—powers, including the power to appoint one-third of the Senate and rule by decree.

Three years later, in 1928, Albania was proclaimed a kingdom, and President Zogu became King Zog I. The legislative organ consisted of one chamber, while the executive power belonged to the head of state, the King, and the cabinet composed of the Prime Minister and other ministers. In practice, however, Zog retained the same dictatorial powers he'd held as president, and the country was still essentially a military dictatorship.

With the Italian fascists invading Albania in 1939, this Constitution was abolished. Fascist collaborators in Albania offered the throne to Victor Emmanuel III, King of Italy, an act that heavily violated the Constitution of the Albanian Kingdom. The Quisling government established by the Italians passed a new Constitution in 1939.[8]

Communist period

After the liberation of Albania from Nazi occupation, the communists established the Democratic Government of Albania. On 11 January 1946, the constitution of the People's Republic of Albania was promulgated, to which amendments were adopted in 1950. It was later replaced on 28 December 1976, by the Constitution of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania.

The 1976 Constitution defined Albania as a "Socialist People's Republic" (Art. 1) and a "state of the proletarian dictatorship" (Art. 2), and in a similar manner to its predecessor entrenched the rule of the Party of Labour of Albania as the leading force in the Albanian society and "the vanguard of the working class" (Art. 3). In socialist concepts, the Constitution guaranteed basic human rights and privileges to the citizen, such as tax exemption (1976 Constitution, Art. 31). State organs, the People's Assembly as the legislative organ, the Presidium of the People's Assembly as a de facto collegial head of state, and the Council of Ministers as the executive branch were described to function in a similar way as in a parliamentary democracy. However, the actions of these organs were subject to the guidance and decisions of the Labor Party, while its organization was not defined by the Constitution. The First Secretary of the Party was Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and Chairmen of the Defense Council (Art. 89).

Present-day

The 1976 Constitution remained in effect until September 5, 1991, when a temporary basic law was passed to legalize a pluralist system and re-establish a capitalist economy in Albania. Based on this document, which defined Albania as a parliamentary republic, the new Constitution was drafted in 1998. Many drafts, such as the one proposed in 1994, failed to be ratified. The current Constitution was ratified by a popular referendum in 1998.

Contents

Part	Topic	Description[9]
I	Basic Principles	Part I of the Constitution defines Albania as a unitary parliamentary republic as well as a secular state, in which elections are free, equal and periodic.
II	Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms	The fundamental human rights and freedoms are indivisible, inalienable, and inviolable and stand at the base of the entire juridical order.
III	The Assembly	Election and Term ; Deputies ; Organization and Functioning ; Legislative Process ; Council of the Assembly
IV	The President of the Republic
V	The Council of Ministers
VI	Local Government
VII	Normative Acts and International Agreements	Normative Acts ; International Agreements
VIII	Constitutional Court	Courts ; High Council
IX	The Courts
X	Prosecution
XI	Referendum
XII	Repealed	Repealed by Law No. 9904 § (21.4.2008), Articles 153 and 154.
XIII	Public Finances
XIV	State Supreme Audit
XV	Armed Forces
XVI	Extraordinary Measures
XVII	Revision of the Constitution
XVIII	Transitory and Final Provisions

See also

Former constitutions

• Statute of Albania (1914)
• Statute of Lushnje (1920)
• Expanded Statute of Lushnje (1922)
• Fundamental Statute of the Republic of Albania (1925)
• Fundamental Statute of the Kingdom of Albania (1928)
• Fundamental Statute of the Kingdom of Albania (1939)
• Statute of the People's Republic of Albania (1946)
• Constitution of the People's Republic of Albania (1950)
• Constitution of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania (1976)
• On the Main Constitutional Provisions (1991)

Others

• Politics of Albania
• Kanun of Lekë Dukagjini

References

1. Historiku i Kuvendit të Shqipërisë
2. Andersen, Bjoern, ed. (17 March 2005). "The Albanian Constitution of 1976". Retrieved 29 July 2016.
3. "1998 CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA" (PDF). osce.org. p. 1. Albania is a parliamentary republic. The Republic of Albania is a unitary and indivisible state.
4. "1998 CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA" (PDF). osce.org. p. 12. The Assembly consists of 140 deputies. One hundred deputies are elected directly in single member electoral zones with an approximately equal number of voters. Forty deputies are elected from multi-name lists of parties or party coalitions according to their ranking
5. "1998 CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA" (PDF). osce.org. p. 17. The President of the Republic is elected by the Assembly by secret ballot and without debate by a majority of three-fifths of all its members.
6. "1998 CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA" (PDF). osce.org. p. 19. At the beginning of a legislature, as well as when the position of Prime Minister is vacant, the President of the Republic appoints the Prime Minister on the proposal of the party or coalition of parties that has the majority of seats in the Assembly.
7. "IPLS - A Brief "Constitutional History" of Albania". Archived from the original on 2012-07-19. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
8. Drejtësia Kushtetuese në Forcimin e Shtetit të së Drejtës
9. "Constitution of Albania". wikisource.org.