CRIMINAL CODE OF THE REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA
In compliance with Article 16 of Law No. 7491, dated 29 April 1991 "On the Main Constitutional Provisions," with the proposal of the Council of the Ministers

THE PEOPLE'S ASSEMBLY
OF THE REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA
DECIDED
I
GENERAL PART

CHAPTER I

CRIMINAL LAW AND ITS APPLICATION

Article 1
Criminal Law and classification of criminal acts
Criminal law defines the criminal acts, the sentencing and other measures taken against the persons who committed them.

Criminal acts are classified into offences and contraventions. The distinction between them is made in the provisions of the Special Part of the present Code.

Article 2
Unlawful sentencing
No one may be sentenced for an act which is not already explicitly provided for by law as an offence or a criminal contravention.

No one may be sentenced with a type and measure of punishment which is not provided for by law.

Article 3
Operation in time of the criminal law
No one may be sentenced for an act which, according to the law in effect when it was committed, did not constitute a criminal act.
A new law which does not criminalize a criminal act has retroactive effect. If the person has been sentenced, the enforcement of the sentence shall not commence and, if it has commenced, it shall cease.
If a law in force at the time when a criminal act has been committed differs from a subsequent law, the law whose provisions are more favorable to the person who has committed the criminal act shall apply.

Article 4
Ignorance of law
Ignorance of the law which punishes a criminal act does not constitute a cause for exclusion from criminal responsibility, unless the ignorance is objectively unavoidable.

Article 5
Territory of the Republic of Albania
In the sense of criminal law, the territory of the Republic of Albania is defined as the land space, the area included in the territorial and internal sea waters, the air space extending over the land space Albanian State such as the residencies of the Albanian diplomatic and consular missions, the ships and that of territorial and internal sea waters as well as any other place under the sovereignty of the carrying the flag of the Republic of Albania, the ships belonging to the navy, [the carriers] of the military and civil aviation wherever they happen to be.

Article 6
The applicable law on criminal acts committed by Albanian citizens
As concerning criminal acts committed by Albanian citizens within the territory of the Republic of Albania, the criminal law of the Republic of Albania shall apply.
Criminal law of the Republic of Albania shall also be applicable to the Albanian citizen who commits an offence within the territory of another country, when that offence is concurrently punishable, unless a final sentence has been given by a foreign court.
In the sense of this article, Albanian citizens shall also be considered those persons who hold another nationality besides the Albanian one.

Article 7
The applicable law on criminal acts committed by foreign citizens
The foreign citizen who commits a criminal act within the territory of the Republic of Albania responds on the basis of the criminal law of the Republic of Albania.
The criminal law of the Republic of Albania is also applicable to a foreign citizen who, outside of the Republic of Albania, commits against the interests of the Albanian state or an Albanian citizen one of the following offences:
a) crimes against humanity;
b) crimes against the Albanian independence and its constitutional order;
c) terrorism;
d) organization of prostitution, illegal manufacturing and trafficking of drugs, other narcotic substances, of weapons, nuclear substances, as well as pornographic materials;
e) hijacking airplanes or ships;
f) falsifying the Albanian state seal, Albanian currency, or Albanian bonds or stocks;
g) crimes which affect the life or health of Albanian citizens, to which the law provides for a punishment by imprisonment of five years or any other heavier punishment.

Article 8
Applicable law on criminal acts committed by a person without nationality
If a person who does not hold any nationality commits a criminal act within the territory of the Republic of Albania or an offence outside it, the provisions of Article 7 of this Code shall apply.

Article 9
Responsibility of a foreign citizen who enjoys immunity
Any case concerning the responsibility of a foreign citizen who commits a criminal act within the territory of the Republic of Albania and enjoys immunity according to international law is resolved diplomatically.

Article 10
Validity of criminal sentences of foreign courts
Unless otherwise provided for by bilateral or multilateral treaties, the criminal sentences of foreign courts on Albanian citizens who plead guilty of committing a criminal act are valid in Albania within the limits of the Albanian law, also on the following merits:
a) for the effect of qualifying as recidivist the person who has committed the criminal act;
b) to execute sentences comprising additional punishment;
c) for implementing the security measures;
d) for compensation of damages or other civil law effects.

Article 11
Extradition
Extradition may be granted only when explicitly provided for by international treaties where the Republic of Albania is a party.
Extradition shall be granted when the criminal act which constitutes the object of the request for extradition is provided for as such simultaneously by both Albanian law and foreign law.
Extradition shall not be granted:
a) if the person to be extradited is an Albanian citizen, unless otherwise provided for by the treaty;
b) if the criminal act constituting the object of the request for extradition is of political or military character;
c) when there is reasonable ground to believe that the person requested to be extradited will be persecuted, punished or wanted because of his political, religious, national, racial or ethnic beliefs;
d) if the person requested to be extradited has been tried for the criminal act for which the extradition is demanded by a competent Albanian court.