Summary

In 2003, Albania enacted legislation on mediation based on the UNCITRAL Model. The Albanian Civil Procedure Code (1996) has a short section on domestic arbitration and notes that international arbitration will be regulated by a special law that has not yet been adopted. The section on domestic arbitration applies only to arbitration proceedings conducted in Albania, in which all the parties are Albanian residents. The law allows for all property claims or other rights related to property to be resolved through arbitration. The arbitration agreement must be concluded in writing. An agreement reached through email communications between the parties is not considered valid. Based on the definition of domestic arbitration in the Code of Civil Procedure, it is unclear whether 2 Albanian entities residing in Albania may agree to arbitrate disputes outside of Albania. Local courts might refuse to enforce an award resulting from such arbitration. It is also unclear whether the provisions for domestic arbitration apply in cases of international arbitration taking place in Albania. The law does not specify which court has jurisdiction to oversee arbitration proceedings in cases of enforcing an arbitration agreement, assisting the arbitrators with orders for provisional measures, and taking evidence. Arbitration proceedings in Albania must be conducted in Albanian. Only lawyers licensed to practice in Albania may represent parties in domestic arbitration. The district court of first instance has jurisdiction to enforce awards made in Albania, which can take 14 weeks on average for domestic awards and 15 weeks for foreign awards from filing an application to a writ of execution attaching assets (assuming there is no appeal).