Commercial law developments in Yugoslavia with a focus in the Socialist Republic of Macedonia and Albania

• Author: Endri Papajorgji, Rezarta Tahiraj
• Position: Dean of the Faculty of Law at Tirana Business University College, Tirana, Albania/Chief of Department of Law at Aleksander Xhuvani University, Elbasan, Albania
• Pages: 110-116

Commercial law developments in Yugoslavia with a focus

in the Socialist Republic of Macedonia and Albania

Associate professor Endri PAPAJORGJI1

Associate professor Rezarta TAHIRAJ2

Abstract

Commercial law is an abstract definition in a central planned economy, but

Yugoslavia had a system of its own and in the economic history books it has always a

special chapter. It all started with the planned system economy, but very early Yugoslavia

followed its own path, namely workers' self-government and a special property form, the

so-called social property. Albania instead followed the path of all socialist countries –

central planned economy and socialist property. This system can be considered a definition

of administrative socialism or etatism.3 This manuscript aims to analyze the commercial

reforms in Yugoslavia, Macedonia and Albania and its consequences towards free market

economy. A historic a nd deductive method will b e used to analyze the legal reforms that

made Yugoslavia a specialty in the communist block.

Keywords: Yugoslavia, Macedonia, Albania, commercial law, property.

JEL Classification: K20, K22, K23.

1. Introduction

The Yugoslav socialism started with the first five-year plan (1947-1951),

through which the entire economic life was planned in advance and monitored to

the smallest detail. As in Albania, companies were legally independent legal

entities. In fact, they were part of the state administration.4 In the following period,

the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia (hereinafter: SRM) from

31.12.1946 was issued.5 Although the Yugoslav constitution envisaged self-

government of the Republics, this had only a very limited impact in the SRM. As a

1 Endri Papajorgji - Dean of the Faculty o f Law at Tirana Business University College, Tirana,

Albania, endripapajorgji@hotmail.com

2 Rezarta Tahiraj - Chief of Department of Law at Aleksander Xhuvani University, Elbasan, Albania,

rtahiraj.uniel@gmail.com

3 Horvat, B., Wirtschaftssysteme – Jugoslawien, in Albers/Born/Dürr/Hesse/Kraft/Lampert/Rose/

Rupp/Scherf/ Schmidt/Wittmann (Hrsg), Handwörterbuch der Wirtschaftswissenschaft – Wirtschaft

und Politik b is Zölle, 1982, p. 371; see also: Veljanovski, N., Zur verfassungsrechtlichen Stellung

Makedoniens im kommunistischen Jugoslawien, in Lukan/Jordan/ (Hrsg), Makedonien Geographie-

Ethnische Struktur-Geschichte-Sprache und Kultur-Politik-Wirtschaft-Recht (Makedonien) ÖOH

1998, p. 209.

4Teichert, J., Die kollektive Selbstverwaltung der Betriebe im Rahmen der Arbeiter-selbstverwaltung

in Jugoslawien, Bonn, 1959, p. 35.

5 Ustav na Narodna Republika Makedonija, Sl V VRM 1946/106.