“A society which has not has in its foundation the law will never make a state, it has not progressed and all these kind of societies, either have been destined to die, or they have remained at the stage of a barbarian society”
“Unfortunately many princes and Albanian chieftains have been inclined to division than unity.” – Marin BARLETI
The law represents the life of the human society. A society which has not has in its foundation the law will never make a state, it has not progressed and all these kind of societies, either have been destined to die, or they have remained at the stage of a barbarian society. Concrete examples on the role of law in society are the ancient empires, the Indian, Chinese, Egyptian, Babylonian, Greek and Roman.
The first human laws and codes are known in history. Among them we can mention the Codes of Hamurabi. Perhaps he was the first in human history to show the peoples that society cannot progress without laws. The Codes of Hamurabi were written and were placed on an Obelisk (a marble pillar) in the capital of Babylonia, where all the people read them. Historians made different interpretations to these laws, some called them progressive, and others as laws serving the serfdom. The truth is that the civilised human society cannot breathe without laws. Historically this was proved in the ancient civilisation with the Greek and Roman societies, later with the Western Europe peoples, like English, German, French, Scandinavian and other peoples of the Low-Countries. The apex of the human society was reached with the democracy state of ancient Athens and Rome. The democracy and the law flourished here. Many emperors, politicians, strategists, philosophers, etc., based their rule on these laws. The Greek state gave the first example, which based the construction of the society only on the law. The decisive role was played by Demos in building the Greek state and laws. No leader could decide without taking its approval in all the wars and social conflicts. State of Athens and no less that of Sparta by the law preceded the human society. These states based on law, called the other peoples barbarians. This qualification is meaningful even nowadays. The Roman state based on Athens experience raised democracy and law to a higher level. In the ancient Rome the Senate was founded, a legislative organ. The Senate compiled laws and was plenipotentiary. The ruling class, the patricians, the emperors, the consuls, the strategists could take no decision without the approval of the plebeians as well. We can say that the Greek-Roman democracy set the foundations of the progressive state from which all the human society learned.
In the Middle Ages the state and the law were further consolidated. The map of the European states and nations was formed. The bourgeois revolutions gave an impetus to the future of civilisation based on law. The parliaments were created as legislative organs, the constitutions, which represent the fundamental laws of the state, the governments as executive organs, the courts, the prosecutions and the media. In this way the modern powers were outlined, legislative, executive, judicial and media powers were created. England was the first in the creation of these values. But in the human society we have also negative examples of societies, which though claiming the state and the law, negated categorically the elementary human rights. So the laws and the norms of the ruling classes were bloodthirsty and antihuman for the slaves and the serfs. The slave owners had the right to kill, sell and buy them and they responded to nobody about that. In this way the life and the death of the slave were in his hands. In the Middle Ages the seven feudal rights were the greatest humiliation caused to the serfs who made up the majority of the population. One of these rights was the right of the feudal for the first night with the serf’s bride. Such laws had more a moral and customs character, unfortunately very humiliating, which in one form or another we find even today. The bourgeois revolutions overthrew the old world and with it the unjust laws on which the political superstructure was erected on the basis of which was the oppression and exploitation of the majority by the minority. But it is not enough to have laws; this does not express the essence of the matter. Besides the law, an open and civilised society is needed, the political superstructure and the institutions of the legal state, which serves equally to all, otherwise the laws would be senseless. The dictatorships and the totalitarian states in all the history, with their fierce and antihuman laws have refrained and slowed the life development and the social progress. In the 20th century, in the time of the modern history, from the regimes, which did not have in their foundation the law and the right, the fascist, Nazism regimes and communist dictatorships descended. Whereas in Albania the concern comes from another direction. After the foundation of the first Albanian state (1912) the leaders of some regions did not join the newly created government of Ismail Qemali, it had a very short life. The worst example was the rebellious pro-Turkish movement of Haxhi Qamili. He opposed his state and when he invaded Durres he lowered the Albanian flag and raised the Turkish flag. In the same way Esat Pacha Toptani in1913 handed Shkodra over to the armies of Kniaz Nikolla of Montenegro. The famous historian, Marin Barleti, in his major work “The History of the Life and Works of George Kastriot Skanderbeg”, writes: “Unfortunately many princes and Albanian chieftains have been inclined to division than unity.” This prophetic saying remains ever current. In 1992, in Albania the reforms started to found the state of law. From that year till now the Albanian parliament has approved many laws belonging to the judicial law, but they are very scarcely applied, turning them in valueless laws. The political conflicts lead the society to regress. In this situation when law does not prevail, but more the anarchy and the organised crime, the meaning of the word reconciliation and national union receives great values because it has the law in its foundation. In this sense the Committee of the Nationwide Reconciliation has undertaken an irreplaceable mission and task, and that is why it has won the support among the people. It is the duty of all the society, the state structures and international organisations to support it. Progress and Stability of political life among Albanians will help a lot also the other peoples in the Balkans. |
