Kanun (Albania)

The Kanun (also Gheg Albanian: Kanû/-ja, other names include Albanian: doke, zakon, venom, usull, itifatk, adet, sharte, udhë, rrugë) is a set of Albanian traditional customary laws, which has directed all the aspects of the Albanian tribal society.

For at least the last five centuries and into the present, Albanian customary laws have been kept alive only orally by the tribal elders. The success in preserving them exclusively through oral systems is an indication of ancient origins. Strong pre-Christian motifs mixed with motifs from the Christian era reflect the stratification of the Albanian customary law across various historical ages. The Kanun has held a sacred – although secular – longstanding, unwavering, and unchallenged authority with a cross-religious effectiveness over the Albanians, attributed to an earlier pagan code common to all Albanian tribes. The Albanian Kanun is regarded as a literary monument of interest to Indo-European studies, reflecting many legal practices of great antiquity with precise echoes in law codes of other Indo-European peoples, potentially inherited from the Proto-Indo-European culture.

Throughout history, Albanian customary laws have been changed and supplemented with new norms, in accordance with certain requirements of socio-economic development. Besa and nderi (honour) are of major importance in Albanian customary law as the cornerstone of personal and social conduct.

The first known codification of Albanian oral customary law was published by the Ottoman administration in the 19th century. Several regional Albanian customary laws have been collected and published during the 20th and 21st centuries, including The Kanun of Lekë Dukagjini, The Kanun of Skanderbeg and The Kanun of Labëria. During the years of the communist regime, the Albanian state abolished by law the customary practices. However, their exercise returned after the 1990s as a result of the collapse of state institutions in Albania and in Kosovo. In Albania, in particular, the exercise of customary law was observed especially in matters related to property law.