Code of Lekë

The Kanun (also aln, Kanû/-ja, other names include sq, 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 until today, Albanian customary laws have been kept alive only orally by the tribal elders. The success in preserving them exclusively through oral systems highlights their universal resilience and provides evidence of their likely 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. Over time, Albanian customary laws have undergone their historical development, they 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.

Name

The term ''kanun'' comes from the Greek "" ("canon"), meaning amongst others "pole" or "rule" and was transported from Greek to Arabic and then into early Turkish. The term must have been divulgated during the Ottoman rule. It was so widely used among Albanians that when something was legal it was said to be "kanun", and when not legal, "the kanun doesn't give it". The consuetudinary law was called "kanun". Baroness Von Godin thought it was the Ottomans that gave the name ''kanun'' and that the Albanian name ''Lek'' (latin lex) was only later perceived as a proper name attributed to late Medieval nobleman of the Dukagjini family.

Aside from the term ''kanun'' other words of Turkish extract were used (usull, itifak, adet, ) or in the Albanian periphrase "rrugë" or "udhë" (way or path). In Martanesh and Çermenikë it was known as "kanun", in Toskëria it was known as "The Kanun of the Adet", in Labëria "The sharte of Idriz Suli", in the Bregu district ''Venomet e Himarës.'' but in Dibër, Kurbin, Bendë and Tamadhe it was called ''zakon'' (from slavonic ''законъ'').
According to Çabej, Camaj and Schmidt-Neke, the oldest Albanian word by which the customary law was known was ''doke'', meaning "custom", "usance", "tradition" in Albanian.

Origin

The stratification of the Albanian oral customary law across the various historical eras is reflected in its powerful pre-Christian motifs mixed with
motifs from the Christian era; the following strata have been identified: pre-Indo-European, Indo-European, Ancient Greek, Ancient Roman, general Balkan and Osmanli.

Some scholars have defined the Albanian ''Kanun'' as a set of traditions which are more or less ancient and widespread in the Balkans and in the Mediterranean area, however it should be considered independently as a "customary code and a normative heritage" of a people who, on the basis of their own social sense, have created a legal system that was autonomous from the law enforced by the various conquerors. In other words, it can be defined as a 'constitution' of a stateless social system.

The Albanian ''Kanun'' contains several customary concepts that have their origins in pagan beliefs, including in particular the ancestor worship, animism and totemism, which date back long before the period of Lekë Dukagjini. Comparing the Albanian Kanun of the Mountains with the Iliad and the Odyssey, the Japanese scholar Kazuhiko Yamamoto has concluded that the basic ethical concepts of the stateless social structure of the Homeric Age — 'faith', 'honor', 'blood', 'revenge', 'food', and 'guest' — are the same customary concepts of the Albanian tribal society.

British anthropologist and writer Edith Durham has suggested that the Albanian Kanun likely dates back to the Bronze Age culture. Other scholars have suggested that it retains elements from Indo-European prehistoric eras. Others further have conjectured that it may derive from ancient Illyrian tribal laws.

For at least the last five centuries and until today, the Kanun has been kept alive only orally by Albanian tribal elders. The success in preserving them exclusively through oral systems highlights their universal resilience and provides evidence of their likely ancient origins. In his codification of the ''Kanun'' Shtjefën Gjeçovi added footnotes in reference to the Roman law, and an earlier indigenous legal system that survived the Roman occupation can be seen in the ''doke''.

History

According to some historical sources, the government of the Roman and Byzantine empire had to recognize autonomous customary laws to the various local communities for their self-administration. In this context, during different periods, Albanian customary laws were implemented in parallel with Roman, Byzantine, Ecclesiastic

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