The Historical Evolution of the Albanian Constitution During the XX-XXI Centuries

Abstract

This paper aims to highlight the historical importance of constitutionalism for a country and the efforts made to finalize it. Referring to the history of the Albanian Constitution, we can see a centuries-old attempt to bring an essential legal act that gives the highest values to the state, not only in the National Legal context but also in compatibility with International Legislation. As it is already known, the Constitution is the state's fundamental law. In the Albanian tradition, the constitution, the notions related to it, and the concepts that originate from it have had less longevity than the state itself. Due to historical circumstances, the Albanian state was created in the last phase of the withdrawal of the Ottoman Empire from the Balkans and the creation of the Balkan states. As a result, it faced double difficulties in the written shaping and implementation of constitutional practices and norms. For the founders of the Albanian state, there was no previous reference document, no close contemporary tradition, and no legitimate institutions from which the constitutional document could originate.What will be important in this paper is that, based on the documentary analysis, there has been a continuous effort by the political bodies, since the Declaration of Independence and up to our days, for a contemporary development and modeling of all the Constitutions of this country, starting from Canons and ending in the current Constitution which the Albanian state obeys today. Also, in this paper, clarifying some misunderstandings or unintentional misinterpretations about the previous constitutional documents will be essential. Based on the bibliography, all the Albanian constitutions without which the Albanian legal state could not function, and functions will be studied with special attention.

Received: 2 October 2023 / Accepted: 10 December 2023 / Published: 23 December 2023