Analysis of Land Reforms and the Review of Legislative Aspects in Rural Land in Albania

Albanian agriculture has been experiencing a dramatic and difficult transition period from a centralized, planned economy to a market economy. The main reasons for these difficulties are because of the expropriation of peasant property and their incorporation into the cooperative system transformed them into salaried workers with one of the lowest per capita income levels in the world. Also the laws restricting the mobility of rural people kept about 65 percent of the population in the countryside and increased impoverishment of the rural population reduced the supply of food for the cities. Ownership rights include the right to exclusive use and enjoyment as well as the right to transfer property through selling, making gifts, mortgaging, leasing, inheritance etc. At the same time, there are certain responsibilities for property owners that may limit some of these rights. Examples of these limits include zoning, environmental standards and urban planning laws. Equally important to the right of private ownership of property is the maintenance and use of property for public purposes. The purpose of this research is to move beyond the rather simplistic notions of land use and land tenure that have informed research on postsocialist land reforms. Land use generates or modifies a large variety of products and services, as highlighted by recent research on the multifunctional nature of European agriculture.