For most Europeans the concept of law is really easy to explain: for majority it is understand as statutory law, a set of rules estabilished by state that they have to obey under the threat of some kind of punishment. In that case the legislator is the state itself and the country's government
establishes rlues that pepole living under it's jurisdicion must obey. This understanding of law is quite obvious for most of today's Europeans and, in different variants, it has spread almost on the entire continent.
It there any other form of law then the one established by state then?
Before the people were conected under the juristiction of first govermental institutions that forced their rules upon then they where gathering in smaller comunities. To establish a order among those groups of people they needed some rules that everyone had to obey. The basic principles of coexistance where dictated by customary law that was based on the tradition and history of a given group. This form of law didn't need any type of any institutional backing - it apllied to any person that wanted to be a part od a given social group.
As the world developed, they were fewer, and fewer places where traditional law survived. This type of jurisdiction preserved in places that were harder to reach for country's administration such as islands, deserts and.... mountains.
In today's Albania there are still some mountaionous regions where people practice traditional law in place of that regulated by state. Esspecialy in the northen part of the country people often find customary law even more efficient. Due to country's poor comunication it's sometimes really hard for country's officials to reach some mountanioes regions. Moreover, customary law is deeply rooted in Albania's tradition. It is belived that it is practiced in the country in almost the same formt since almost XV century. The set of albanian traditional laws is called Kanunu i Leke Dukagjinit (eng. The Code of Leke Dukagjini, or simply the Kanun) and it regulates every aspect of life. The code contains many controversal principles such as the one that regulates the blood feud or the practice of sworn virgins.
