Crime in Albania is moderate, but occurs in various forms. A crime is described as an act against the Albanian Penal Code for which there are judicial consequences such as punishments or fines. The Penal Code is based on the Constitution of the Republic of Albania, with general principles of international criminal law ratified by the Albanian state. Crimes in Albania can only be committed within the territory of the Republic of Albania, land space, maritime waters and air space under the sovereignty of the Albanian state. Albanian law is also applicable to foreign citizens committing crimes against or within the Albanian state. Crimes committed against humanity, which violate the independent and constitutional order are punishable. It is not possible to be punished for a crime through a violation of a law which is not written in the Albanian legal code. Internationally protected civilians are included in the Albanian protective system and can be extradited according to international agreements.
Causal factors and attributes
There are many socio-cultural and socio-political factors connected to the criminal culture and statistics in Albania and amongst Albanians which is based on religious and cultural factors, such family relations and the former Communist system. Studies on the complexity of Albanian honor violence is an area which requires a careful approach as family members involved will often hold onto cultural values passionately, and no single factor can be explanatory. Historical factors, tribalism, warfare and low socio-economical factors, combined with a history of blood feuds, also contribute to crimes statistics. This results in isolation amongst families trapped in blood feuds and a decrease in the belief of the modern justice system. Studies on the Albanian blood feuds phenomena show that poor living conditions, mountainous habitats and low education contribute to isolation. Poverty in low income regions has also led to prostitution and organized crime, with children mostly being the victims. In general, crimes related to honor and masculinity tend to be stronger in Mediterranean countries, like Albania, than in northern Europe. Albanian families tend to feel obliged to take personal matters into their own hands as the trust for the judicial system is rather low.
Origin
The first traces of criminality being handled within a system of codes, in the present day area of Albania, was in the 15th-century where the Kanun law was practiced amongst Albanian mountaineers. Although primitive, the system worked well, was often fast, cheap and left few crimes unsolved, in comparison with other European counterparts. Customary law was considered to be more authoritarian than written laws amongst Albanians.
Crime during the Ottoman and Medieval period
As the Pashaliks of Scutari, Yanina, Berat, and Monastir all strived for decentralized systems of power in the mid-18th to the mid-19th centuries, lawlessness erupted as a central authority was absent. This meant that the Albanian pashaliks were responsible for their region and could personally alter the penal code for the citizens, though most Albanian local lords were still under the jurisdiction of the Sultan. For a period, the Albanian beys negotiated in their favor towards the Sublime Porte which resulted in extended landownership, concentrating power in the hands of a few powerful families. This resulted in a status of extensive lawlessness being imposed on the Albanian provinces, with the local beys fighting each other. The Porte responded with "Divide et impera" hoping to avoid a loss of control. In 1847, during the southern Albanian revolts, the local beys resisted the Porte's taxation system (tanzimat) which risked the feudal relations of merchants and craftsmen. The Albanian highlanders refused to accept the conscriptions of the Nizam law of 1843.