A CONTINUING CHALLENGE IN THE PROTECTION OF THE IMMOVABLE PROPERTY RIGHTS IN ALBANIA

The World organizations report on governance and development since year 1997 defined governance as “the manner in which power is exercised in the management of a country’s economic and social resources for development.” The Financial Institution’s Strategy on Governance and Anticorruption broadens this definition to “the manner in which public officials and institutions acquire and exercise the authority to shape public policy and provide public goods and services.” The authors of the World Bank Institute’s Worldwide Governance Indicators offer a more comprehensive approach:Governance consists of the traditions and institutions by which authority in a country is exercised. This includes the process by which governments are selected, monitored and replaced; the capacity of the government to effectively formulate and implement sound policies; and the respect of citizens and the state for the institutions that govern economic and social interactions among them.This review of immovable property rights in Albania draws primarily upon this definition, which takes into account the popular legitimacy of state institutions and respect for the law among citizens and government institutions—the “softer” aspects of governance that are essential to understanding how policies are made and implemented in practice and how public resources are used.