THE CRUCIAL ISSUES ABOUT THE LEGALIZATION LEGISLATION ON ILLEGAL CONSTRUCTIONS IN ALBANIA. WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE BALCANIC EXPERIENCE?

Abstract

In the process of transition of the Balkan countries towards democracy, the strengthening of the "rule of law" is a key factor. The process of legalization in Albania is a clear indication that this transition has not been developed as it should have. In post-communist Albania, ranging from the 1990s to the present day the problem of illegal buildings remains a disturbing fact to which, no final solution has been found, yet. The solution that the Albanian government has given to the problem is the implementation of the system of Ownership Reform substantial part of which is the legalization of these buildings through a law of 'legalization', which makes legal, situations that were illegal up to that moment.This paper will aim to provide a solution to the question " The problems that have arisen during the legalization process in Albania. What can be done in the future by observing and taking into consideration the experience of countries with similar experiences?”.Thus we will deal especially with the evaluation fact of defining how much coherent and pragmatic the policy of legalization has been and how much acceptable it is valued by all stakeholders involved in this process (unlicensed builders, former owners, state, third parties, and international actors. Which are the main obstacles that have slowed down the process of legalization up to now and how to remove or overcomere them.In conclusion it will be emphasized the positive elements by European practices especially from Balkan countries, to be taken into account. By observing in comparative ways, there will be noticed that the legalization process is not only an Albanian phenomenon but has occured in all post-communist countries due to the unconsolidated market of real property trade after 1990 and because of the fact that many properties continued to remain " without an owner', for a long time due to the excessive length of the process of restitution of property to former owners. In conclusion, it can be said that in the future , only a well developed - 20-year vision territory planning policy , would contribute to the elimination of the phenomenon of informal constructions, which are a blocked asset not only to their builders but to the albanian society as well.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n22p395