uL stration laws dealing with state administration in Albania ABSTRACT As a post-communist country, the Republic of Albania has taken several legal measures to break away from the totalitarian past and to establish a democratic state. Some of these measures were the lustration laws - taken to restrict members and collaborators of the former totalitarian regime from holding a range of public offices. But even today, many scholars declare that despite the fact there was a legal basis for lustration this process has not yet become effective. These declarations intrigued our attention to ask why these lustration laws taken in Albania have failed to be effective in producing the intended purposes, e.g., the lustration of state administration. Because of how they are designed, or, how they are implemented? To answer this question, as the core of this paper, we have operated with a particular three-step method. While as the methodology, we have used a combination of classical legal research techniques, i.e., the interpretation of legal acts and analysis of archival documents. In the end, we have found out reasons why these lustration laws were not effective in producing the intended purposes, e.g., the lustration of state administration, are behind the how they were designed and implemented. Keywords: lustration, state administration, Albania, INTRODUCTION “What we did not accomplish in 1992, what we did not accomplish in 1996, I guess we are not going to accomplish in 2008” Pandeli Majko1 currently State Minister of Diaspora, Republic of Albania As a post-communist country, the Republic of Albania has taken several legal, institutional and financial measures, to break away from the totalitarian past and to establish a democratic state, based on the rule of law, respect for human rights and social justice. Some of these measures were the so-called lustration laws - taken to restrict members and collaborators of the former totalitarian regime from holding a range of public offices, state management positions, or other jobs with strong public influence. But even today, after 24 years of the first lustration law in Albania, many scholars and politicians declare that despite the fact there were/ is a legal basis for lustration and the right to information on state security files this process has not yet become effective2. As students of public administration, these declarations intrigued our attention to ask why these lustration laws taken in Albania have failed to be effective in producing the intended purposes, e.g., the lustration of state administration3. Because of how they are designed, or, how they are implemented? To answer this question, as the core of this paper, we have operated with a particular three-step method. While as the methodology is used a combination of classical legal research techniques, i.e., the interpretation of legal acts and analysis of archival documents. Thus, as the first step of our method, as the sine qua non to accomplish our aim ut supra, we have identified lustration laws dealing also with the state administration, i.e., law nr. 8043, dated 30 November 1995, law nr. 1. These are words of Mr. Pandeli Majko, a lawmaker in Albanian Parliament, during the process of discussing three legal initiatives on lustration of public figures in Legal Issues, Public Administration and Human Rights Commission, (dated 07.07.2008, page 27). 2. Bledar Abdurrahmani, Transitional justice in Albania: the lustration reform and information on communism files, (Interdisciplinary Journal of Research and Development, Vol. 5, no. 3, 2018). 3. For the scope of this paper state administration will be defined as the Council of Minister’s structure, the ministries, the central institutions subordinated to the Prime Minister or a minister, including its territorial branches, as well as the administration of the Prefect. 77