Customary law and regulation: Authenticity and influence

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Abstract

In its origins, customary law is a product of tribal order, which lacked a genuine state organization and institutions to create and enforce the law (Pëllumbi, 2006). Albanian customary law (ACL) is one of the oldest and most exceptional bodies of European customary law. It is exceptional that it does not come from a legislator or state parliament, but it was transmitted across generations in its unwritten form since antiquity. ACL has been applied in Albanian territories alongside various state laws implemented by locals or invaders. The purpose of this paper is to bring closer the scientific knowledge regarding the application of customary law from the ancient period to the new time. This knowledge brings scientific data regarding the originality or the influence of the customary rights of foreign people on ACL. This paper, by using the comparative methods, theoretical and meta-analysis methods (Maloku, 2020), will present the views of some foreign and local authors on customary law throughout history, and in particular in the Kanun of Lekë Dukagjini (KLD) as a fundamental source of ACL. The KLD has had the greatest longevity. Japanese anthropologist Kazuhiko Yamamoto considered the KLD to be similar to ancient Japanese customary law and Homeric-era law (Yamamoto, 2015). This paper contributes to the existing scientific literature, especially in the legal field. Moreover, this paper can contribute to the work of criminologists, victimologists, sociologists, and historians of the rule of law who deal with the research on the impact of customary law in Albanian lands.

Keywords: Customary Law, Regulation, the Origin of Customary Law, Albanian Customary Law, Kanun of Lekë Dukagjini, Contemporary Law

Authors’ individual contribution: Conceptualization — I.Q. and A.M.; Methodology — E.M.; Formal Analysis — I.Q. and A.M.; Investigation — I.Q.; Resources — I.Q., A.M., and E.M.; Writing — Original Draft — I.Q.; Writing — Review & Editing — I.Q. and A.M.; Supervision — I.Q. and A.M.

Declaration of conflicting interests: The Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

JEL Classification: K40, K41, K42, K49

Received: 08.04.2022
Accepted: 15.11.2022
Published online: 17.11.2022

How to cite this paper: Qerimi, I., Maloku, A., & Maloku, E. (2022). Customary law and regulation: Authenticity and influence [Special issue]. Journal of Governance & Regulation, 11(4), 289–299. https://doi.org/10.22495/jgrv11i4siart9