Assembly of Albania
Encyclopedia
The Parliament of Albania ( or short Kuvendi or Parlamenti), formerly the People's Parliament is the unicameral
parliament
of the Republic of Albania.
It has 140 members, elected for four-year terms. The electoral system is closed list
proportional representation. There are 12 multi-member constituencies, corresponding to the country's 12 administrative regions. Within any constituency, parties must meet a threshold of three percent of votes; pre-election coalitions must meet a threshold of five percent. All laws passed by the parliament are published by the Albanian Official Journal
, the official journal
of the government of Albania.
The President is elected by the parliament. The current members were chosen in 2009.
have their beginnings in the late-1912 Albanian Independence from the Ottoman Empire
. The National Assembly of Vlora served as the Albanian legislative body for two years, until the 1914 statute.
.
After the Italian invasion of Albania in April 1937, King Zog I fled the country. The King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III, was offered the crown of Albania.
Unicameralism
In government, unicameralism is the practice of having one legislative or parliamentary chamber. Thus, a unicameral parliament or unicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of one chamber or house...
parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
of the Republic of Albania.
It has 140 members, elected for four-year terms. The electoral system is closed list
Closed list
Closed list describes the variant of party-list proportional representation where voters can only vote for political parties as a whole and thus have no influence on the party-supplied order in which party candidates are elected...
proportional representation. There are 12 multi-member constituencies, corresponding to the country's 12 administrative regions. Within any constituency, parties must meet a threshold of three percent of votes; pre-election coalitions must meet a threshold of five percent. All laws passed by the parliament are published by the Albanian Official Journal
Albanian Official Journal
The Albanian Official Journal is the official journal of the Government of Albania. The Albanian Official Journal has the responsibility to post all the laws passed by the Albanian Government as ratified by the Parliament of Albania or issued by the Albanian government.-External links:*...
, the official journal
Official Journal
Official Journal may refer to the public journal of several nations and other political organizations:* Belgian Official Journal* Journal Officiel de la République Française* Official Journal of the European Patent Office...
of the government of Albania.
The President is elected by the parliament. The current members were chosen in 2009.
Renovation
Since the end of the 2010 parliamentary season, the parliament has been renovated.Committees
The Albanian parliament has the following 10 committees:- Ad-Hoc Conmmitties
- Committee on Legal Affairs, Public Administration and Human RightsCommittee on Legal Affairs, Public Administration and Human Rights (Albania)The Committee on Legal Affairs, Public Administration and Human Rights is a committee in the Albanian parliament. It main goal is Codes and organization of the judiciary, public administration, judicial administration, organization and functioning of local government, utilities, independent system...
- Committee for European Integration
- Committee on Foreign Policy
- Committee on Economic and Finance
- Committee on National Security
- Committee on Productive Activities, Trade and Environment
- Committee on Labour, Social Affairs and Health
- Committee on Education and Public Information MediaCommittee on Education and Public Information (Albania)The Committee on Education and Public Information is a committee in the Albanian parliament....
- Special Committee
Background
The legislative system in Albania has a relatively short history, and is closely related to the history of the state. During this period, it has evolved under different regimes.History
National Assembly of Vlora (1912)
The parliamentary institutions in AlbaniaAlbania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
have their beginnings in the late-1912 Albanian Independence from the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. The National Assembly of Vlora served as the Albanian legislative body for two years, until the 1914 statute.
Albanian state under Prince William of Weid and 1914 Organic Statute
The National Assembly of Vlora continued its work as the national legislative body for several years. This assembly provided the first organic Statute of Albania, prepared by the International Commission of Control in 1914. Under the statute, the National Assembly was a legislative body composed of members elected by the people, appointed by the prince and members "ex officio" (a total of 36). After serving for eight years, the National Assembly of Vlora ended its mission after losing the border war against neighboring countries which was resolved in the Treaty of LondonTreaty of London
The Treaty of London may refer to:* Treaty of London , which ceded western France to England, repudiated by the Estates-General in Paris on 19 May 1359* Treaty of London , a non-aggression pact between the major European nations...
.
1920 creation of the Senate
The Lushnja Congress created the Senate (the first Albanian Parliament, later the National Council) as the legislative body, which consisted of 37 members elected by delegates to the Congress. The Congress expressed, in the form of organized political will of shqiptarëvge, to take the country's destiny into its own hands. During this period, for the first time was affirmed the principles of parliamentarianism: the appointment and dismissal of the government by the Senate, and the exercise of parliamentary control. Although the first Albanian parliament carried out its legislative activities over a short period of time, it passed several important laws. The most important act was the Statute of Lushnja, which established constitutional law. The legislative activity of the National Council ended in December 1920, when the Council was dissolved to prepare the country for its first election in March 1921.1922 Statute of Lushnja extension
By-elections were held in March 1921, and the country was represented by 78 deputies. At this time Parliament began to meet regularly as a body, with clearly defined tasks and a timetable. In 1922 the Statute of Lushnja was expanded into a constitution with the highest power given to the state and a legitimate parliament. The former National Council was renamed the Parliament. The legislative body consisted of a chamber of deputies, indirectly elected by the people. During this period, two political groups emerged: the People's Party (led by Fan Noli) and the Progressive Party (led by Hoxha Kadriu). In the legislative field, the activity of the National Council focused on such matters drafting the law on judicial organization, amending existing regulation with new elements for the transparency of parliamentary activity and crafting the oath of deputies to the Council. In September 1923 the National Council closed its proceedings at the conclusion of the legislature to prepare the country for new elections to the Constitutional Assembly, held in December of that year.1924–1925 Constitutional Assembly
The Constitutional Assembly, consisting of 100 deputies, convened over two periods (21 January–2 June 1924 and December 1924–March 2, 1925). Its main task was the drafting of a written constitution. That objective was not achieved during the first period of activity due to the assassination attempt on Prime Minister Ahmet Zog by Avni Rustemi. On 2 June 1924 the Assembly closed the first session of proceedings. After the dissolution of the government Zog left Albania, remaining underground until December 1924. During this period, the short-lived (June–December 1924) government of Fan Noli gained power. With the return to power of Ahmet Zog (marking the resumption of the rule of law), the Constitutional Assembly resumed work. It finally accomplished the task for which it was created: adoption of the basic statutes of the state, which would determine its future.1925–1928 Republic of Albania
Albania's form of government was defined as a parliamentary republic, headed by a president whose sovereignty was derived from the people. By decree of the Constitutional Assembly, Ahmet Zog was elected head of state. For the only time in Albania's history, its parliament consisted of two chambers: the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. The Chamber of Deputies (the lower house) consisted of 57 deputies elected by the people, and the Senate (the upper house) consisted of 18 senators (two-thirds of whom were elected by the people and one-third chosen by the President of the Republic). This bicameral system gave priority in certain cases to the Senate, putting the Chamber of Deputies in a position of inferiority. When Parliament's two chambers met in joint session, it was known as the Legislative Assembly and separately noted as such in statutes. During this time Parliament adopted a series of important laws, including national-bank and civil-pension laws. There was a lack of pluralism, due to the lack of representation in the electoral system. A lack of political parties characterized the rule of Ahmet Zog as President of the Republic, and then as King of the Albanians. A redistribution of Parliament came after a debate to change the form of government, preparing the country for new elections to the Constituent Assembly.Albanian kingdom (1928–1939)
The Constitutional Assembly emerged from the elections of 17 August 1928 with 58 members, a statute-sanctioned monarchical form of government and a unicameral parliamentary system. Albania proclaimed itself a "democratic, parliamentary, and hereditary kingdom" headed by "His Majesty Zog I". Before its conclusion on December 1, 1928, the Constitutional Assembly adopted a civil, commercial and penal code and a code of civil procedures, which marked the drastic break from the legislation of the Ottoman period. For this reason, this parliament was called by Zog I the "constructive" and "reformist parliament."After the Italian invasion of Albania in April 1937, King Zog I fled the country. The King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III, was offered the crown of Albania.