Pantechniki S.A. Contractors & Engineers (Greece) v. The Republic of Albania. Case ID: ICSID Case No. Country: Albania Greece. Burimi srl and eagle games sh.a v. Republic of albania (icsid case no. Arb/11/18) award – 28 may 2013. By aceris law llc.
See also:Albania became dependent on Soviet aid and know-how after it broke with Yugoslavia in 1948. In February 1949, Albania gained membership in the 's organization for coordinating, the (Comecon). Tirana soon entered into trade agreements with, and the.
Soviet and East European technical advisers took up residence in Albania, and the Soviet Union also sent Albania military advisers and built a submarine installation on. After the Soviet-Yugoslav split, Albania and remained the only countries that the Soviet Union could use to funnel war material to the communists.
What little strategic value Albania offered the Soviet Union, however, gradually shrank as nuclear-arms technology developed.Anxious to pay homage to, Albania's rulers implemented elements of the economic system. In 1949 Albania adopted the basic elements of the Soviet fiscal system, under which paid direct contributions to the treasury from their profits and kept only a share authorized for self-financed investments and other purposes. In 1951 the Albanian government launched its first five-year plan, which emphasized exploiting the country's, and resources; expanding and the power grid; increasing; and improving.
The government began a program of rapid after the APL's Second Party Congress and a campaign of forced of farmland in 1955. At the time, private farms still produced about 87% of Albania's agricultural output, but by 1960 the same percentage came from collective or state farms.Soviet-Albanian relations remained warm during the last years of Stalin's life, although Albania was an economic liability for the Soviet Union. Albania conducted all its foreign trade with Soviet European countries in 1949, 1950, and 1951 – and over half its trade with the Soviet Union itself. Together with its satellites, the Soviet Union underwrote shortfalls in Albania's balance-of-payments with long-term grants.Although far behind Western practice, and improved dramatically for Albania's 1.2 million people in the early 1950s. The number of Albanian doctors increased by a third to about 150 early in the decade (although the doctor-patient ratio remained unacceptable by most standards), and the state opened new medical-training facilities. The number of hospital beds rose from 1,765 in 1945 to about 5,500 in 1953. Better health-care and living conditions produced an improvement in Albania's dismal infant-mortality rate, lowering it from 112.2 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1945 to 99.5 deaths per 1,000 births in 1953.
The education system, a tool for propagating and creating the academic and technical cadres necessary for construction of a socialist state and society, also improved dramatically. The number of schools, teachers, and students doubled between 1945 and 1950. Illiteracy declined from perhaps 85% in 1946 to 31% in 1950. The Soviet Union provided scholarships for Albanian students and supplied specialists and study materials to improve instruction in Albania. The State University of Tirana (later the ) was founded in 1957 and the opened 15 years later.Stalin died in March 1953, and apparently fearing that the Soviet ruler's demise might encourage rivals within the Albanian party's ranks, neither Hoxha nor Shehu risked traveling to Moscow to attend.
The Soviet Union's subsequent movement toward rapprochement with the hated Yugoslavs rankled the two Albanian leaders. Tirana soon came under pressure from Moscow to copy, at least formally, the new. In July 1953, Hoxha handed over the foreign affairs and defense portfolios to loyal followers, but he kept both the top party post and the premiership until 1954, when Shehu became Albania's prime minister. The Soviet Union, responding with an effort to raise the Albanian leaders' morale, elevated diplomatic relations between the two countries to the ambassadorial level.Despite some initial expressions of enthusiasm, Hoxha and Shehu mistrusted 's programs of ' and 'different roads to socialism' because they appeared to pose the threat that Yugoslavia might again try to take control of Albania. It also concerned Hoxha and Shehu that Moscow might prefer less dogmatic rulers in Albania. Tirana and Belgrade renewed diplomatic relations in December 1953, but Hoxha refused Khrushchev's repeated appeals to rehabilitate posthumously the pro-Yugoslav Xoxe as a gesture to Tito.
The Albanian duo instead tightened their grip on their country's domestic life and let the propaganda war with the Yugoslavs grind on. In 1955 Albania became a founding member of the Warsaw Treaty Organization, better known as the, the only military alliance the nation ever joined.
Although the pact represented the first promise Albania had obtained from any of the to defend its borders, the treaty did nothing to assuage the Albanian leaders' deep mistrust of.Hoxha and Shehu tapped the Albanians' deep-seated fear of Yugoslav domination to remain in power during the thaw following the of the in 1956, when Khrushchev denounced Stalin's crimes in his '. Hoxha defended Stalin and blamed the Titoist heresy for the troubles vexing world Communism, including the and the in 1956. Hoxha mercilessly purged party moderates with pro-Soviet and pro-Yugoslav leanings, but he toned down his anti-Yugoslav rhetoric after an April 1957 trip to Moscow, where he won cancellation of about US$105 million in outstanding loans and about US$7.8 million in additional food assistance. By 1958, however, Hoxha was again complaining about Tito's 'fascism' and 'genocide' against. He also grumbled about a Comecon plan for integrating the East European economies, which called for Albania to produce agricultural goods and minerals instead of emphasizing the development of heavy industry. On a twelve-day visit to Albania in 1959, Khrushchev reportedly tried to convince Hoxha and Shehu that their country should aspire to become 's orchard'. In the Chinese sphere.
And Hoxha in 1956Hoxha and Shehu continued their harangue against the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia at the APL's Fourth Party Congress in February 1961. During the congress, the Albanian government announced the broad outlines of the country's Third Five-Year Plan (1961–65), which allocated 54% of all investment to industry, thereby rejecting Khrushchev's wish to make Albania primarily an agricultural producer. Moscow responded by canceling aid programs and lines of credit for Albania, but the Chinese again came to the rescue.After additional sharp exchanges between Soviet and Chinese delegates over Albania at the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Twenty-Second Party Congress in October 1961, Khrushchev lambasted the Albanians for executing a pregnant, pro-Soviet member of the Albanian party Politburo, and the Soviet Union finally broke diplomatic relations with Albania in December. Moscow then withdrew all Soviet economic advisers and technicians from the country, including those at work on the, and halted shipments of supplies and spare parts for equipment already in place in Albania. In addition, the Soviet Union continued to dismantle its naval installations on, a process that had begun even before the break in relations.Communist China again compensated Albania for the loss of Soviet economic support, supplying about 90% of the parts, foodstuffs, and other goods the Soviet Union had promised. Beijing lent the Albanians money on more favorable terms than Moscow, and, unlike Soviet advisers, Chinese technicians earned the same low pay as Albanian workers and lived in similar housing. China also presented Albania with a powerful radio transmission station from which Tirana sang the praises of Stalin, Hoxha, and for decades.
For its part, Albania offered China a in Europe and acted as Communist China's chief spokesman at the UN. To Albania's dismay, however, Chinese equipment and technicians were not nearly as sophisticated as the Soviet goods and advisers they replaced. Ironically, a language barrier even forced the Chinese and Albanian technicians to communicate in Russian. Albanians no longer took part in activities or agreements.
The other East European communist nations, however, did not break diplomatic or trade links with Albania. In 1964, the Albanians went so far as to seize the empty Soviet embassy in Tirana, and Albanian workers pressed on with construction of the Palace of Culture on their own.The shift away from the Soviet Union wreaked havoc on Albania's economy. Half of its imports and exports had been geared toward Soviet suppliers and markets, so the souring of Tirana's relations with Moscow brought Albania's foreign trade to near collapse as China proved incapable of delivering promised machinery and equipment on time. The low productivity, flawed planning, poor workmanship, and inefficient management at Albanian enterprises became clear when Soviet and Eastern European aid and advisers were withdrawn. In 1962, the Albanian government introduced an austerity program, appealing to the people to conserve resources, cut production costs, and abandon unnecessary investment.Withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact In October 1964, Hoxha hailed Khrushchev's fall from power, and the Soviet Union's new leaders made overtures to Tirana. It soon became clear, however, that the new Soviet leadership had no intention of changing basic policies to suit Albania, and relations failed to improve. Tirana's propaganda continued for decades to refer to Soviet officials as 'treacherous revisionists' and 'traitors to Communism,' and in 1964, Hoxha said that Albania's terms for reconciliation were a Soviet apology to Albania and reparations for damages inflicted on the country.
Soviet-Albanian relations dipped to new lows after the in 1968, Albania felt that the Soviet Union itself had become too liberal since the death of, so it withdrew from the. Made no attempt to force Albania to remain.Cultural and Ideological Revolution. Mount Shpiragu as seen from Berat showing the name of written on its sideIn the mid-1960s, Albania's leaders grew wary of a threat to their power by a burgeoning. Party discipline had eroded. People complained about, and low-quality goods. Writers strayed from the orthodoxy of, which demanded that art and literature serve as instruments of government and party policy.
As a result, after unleashed the in China in 1966, Hoxha launched his own Cultural and Ideological Revolution. The Albanian leader concentrated on reforming the military, government bureaucracy, and economy as well as on creating new support for his system. The regime abolished military ranks, reintroduced political commissars into the military, and renounced professionalism in the army. Railing against a 'white-collar mentality,' the authorities also slashed the salaries of mid- and high-level officials, ousted administrators and specialists from their desk jobs, and sent such persons to toil in the factories and fields. Six ministries, including the Ministry of Justice, were eliminated.
Spread to even the remote mountains. In addition, the government attacked dissident writers and artists, reformed its educational system, and generally reinforced Albania's isolation from in an effort to keep out foreign influences.After the 5th Congress of the Party of Labor of Albania and Enver Hoxha's speech on 6 February 1967, the authorities launched a violent campaign to extinguish, claiming that had divided the Albanian nation and kept it mired in backwardness. Student agitators combed the countryside, forcing Albanians to quit practicing their faith. Despite complaints, even by APL members, all churches, mosques, monasteries, and other religious institutions were closed or converted into warehouses, gymnasiums, and workshops by year's end. A special decree abrogated the charters by which the country's main religious communities had operated. The campaign culminated in an announcement that Albania had become the world's first, a feat trumpeted as one of Enver Hoxha's greatest achievements. While formally the Albanian Constitution up until that time had de jure guaranteed freedom of religion to the Albanian people, religious freedom was virtually non-existent after 1967.
The 1976 later stipulated in Article 37 that 'The state recognizes no religion whatever and supports atheist propaganda for the purpose of inculcating the scientific materialist world outlook in people' and Article 55 explicitly forbade the formation of 'any type of organization of a fascist, anti-democratic, religious, and anti-socialist character' and stated that 'Fascist, anti-democratic, religious, war-mongering, and anti-socialist activities and propaganda, as well as the incitement of national and racial hatred are prohibited.' On November 1, 1967, Enver Hoxha claimed in his Report submitted to the 7th Congress of the Party of Labor of Albania on the activity of the Party's Central Committee that the 1976 Constitution was an embodiment free will of the Albanian people, as genuine democracy was necessary in order for socialism to actually exist.
He said that, 'the broad masses of the working people aired their views freely on the new Fundamental Law of our state of the dictatorship of the proletariat. About 1,500,000 people, practically all the adult population of the country, participated in the meetings which were held, and about 300,000 people contributed to the discussion.
The great popular discussion, characterized by a free and fruitful thrashing out of opinions, by lively and constructive debate, was a clear expression of our socialist democracy in action and of the genuine sovereignty of the people. It demonstrated in practice that in socialist Albania the people are the masters, that nothing is done against their will.'
In 1978Albanian-Chinese relations had stagnated by 1970, and when the Asian giant began to reemerge from isolation and the Cultural Revolution in the early 1970s, Mao and the other Communist Chinese leaders reassessed their commitment to tiny Albania. In response, Albania began broadening its contacts with the outside world. Albania opened trade negotiations with, and the recently independent and states, and in 1971 it normalised relations with. Albania's leaders abhorred the contacts of the People's Republic of China with the United States in the early 1970s, and its press and radio ignored President 's. Albania actively worked to reduce its dependence on Communist China by diversifying trade and by improving diplomatic and cultural relations, especially with.
But Albania shunned the and was the only European country that refused to take part in the of July 1975. Soon after Mao's death in 1976, Hoxha criticized the new leadership as well as Beijing's pragmatic policy toward the United States and Western Europe. The Chinese retorted by inviting Tito to visit Beijing in 1977 and ending assistance programs for Albania in 1978. Center of in 1978, with slogans and propaganda on all the main buildingsThe left Albania with no foreign benefactor. Albania ignored calls by the United States and the Soviet Union to normalize relations.
Instead, Albania expanded diplomatic ties with Western Europe and the and began stressing the principle of self-reliance as the keystone of the country's strategy for economic development. Albania, however, did not have many resources of its own, and Hoxha's cautious opening toward the outside world wasn't enough to bolster the economy, which stirred up nascent movements for change inside Albania. Without Chinese or Soviet aid, the country began to experience widespread shortages in everything from machine parts to wheat and animal feed. Infrastructure and living standards began to collapse.
According to the, Albania netted around US$750 in gross national product per capita throughout much of the 1980s. As Hoxha's health slipped, muted calls arose for the relaxation of party controls and greater openness. In response, Hoxha launched a fresh series of purges that removed the defense minister and many top military officials. A year later, Hoxha purged ministers responsible for the economy and replaced them with younger people.As Hoxha began experiencing more health problems, he progressively started withdrawing from state affairs and taking longer and more frequent leaves of absence.
Meanwhile, he began planning for an orderly succession. He worked to institutionalize his policies, hoping to frustrate any attempt his successors might make to venture from the Stalinist path he had blazed for Albania. In December 1976, Albania adopted its second Stalinist constitution of the postwar era. The document guaranteed Albanians, the, and but subordinated these rights to the individual's duties to society as a whole. The constitution continued to emphasize national pride and unity, and enshrined in law the idea of and prohibited the government from seeking financial aid or credits or from forming joint companies with partners from capitalist or revisionist communist countries. The constitution's preamble also boasted that the foundations of religious belief in Albania had been abolished.In 1980, Hoxha tapped to succeed him as Albania's communist patriarch, overlooking his long-standing comrade-in-arms,. Hoxha first tried to convince Shehu to step aside voluntarily, but when this move failed, Hoxha arranged for all the members of the Politburo to rebuke him for allowing his son to become engaged to the daughter of a former bourgeois family.
Shehu allegedly committed suicide on 18 December 1981. Some suspect that Hoxha had him killed. Hoxha had Shehu's wife and three sons arrested, one of whom killed himself in prison. In November 1982, Hoxha announced that Shehu had been a foreign spy working simultaneously for the United States, British, Soviet, and Yugoslav intelligence agencies in planning the assassination of Hoxha himself. 'He was buried like a dog,' Hoxha wrote in the Albanian edition of his book, The Titoites.Hoxha relinquished many duties in 1983 due to poor health, and Alia assumed responsibility for Albania's administration. Alia traveled extensively around Albania, standing in for Hoxha at major events and delivering addresses laying down new policies and intoning litanies to the enfeebled president. Hoxha died on 11 April 1985.
Alia succeeded to the presidency and became legal secretary of the APL two days later. In due course, he became a dominant figure in the Albanian media, and his slogans were painted in crimson letters on signboards across the country.Transition. Main article:After Hoxha's death, maintained firm control of the country and its security apparatus, but Albania's desperate economic situation required Alia to introduce some reforms. Continuing a policy set by Hoxha, reestablished diplomatic relations with in return for development aid and he also courted.
The very gradual and slight reforms intensified as introduced his new policies of and in the, culminating in the in November 1989 and the across.After (the leader of ) was in a in 1989, expedited his reforms, apparently concerned about violence and his own fate if radical changes were not made. He signed the (which was signed by other countries in 1975) that respected some.
On 11 December 1990, under enormous pressure from students and workers, announced that the Party of Labor had abandoned its guaranteed right to rule, that other parties could be formed, and that free elections would be held in the spring of 1991.' S party won the elections on 31 March 1991—the first free elections held in decades. Nevertheless, it was clear that the change would not be stopped. The position of the communists was confirmed in the first round of elections under a 1991 interim law, but fell two months later during a general strike. A committee of 'national salvation' took over but also collapsed within six months. On 22 March 1992, the Communists were trumped by the in national elections. The change from dictatorship to democracy had many challenges.
The Democratic Party had to implement the reforms it had promised, but they were either too slow or did not solve the problems, so people were disappointed when their hopes for fast prosperity went unfulfilled.In the the Democratic Party tried to win an absolute majority and manipulated the results. This government collapsed in 1997 in the wake of additional collapses of and widespread, which caused. The government attempted to suppress the rebellion by military force but the attempt failed, due to long-term corruption of the armed forces, forcing other nations to intervene. Pursuant to the 1991 interim basic law, Albanians ratified a constitution in 1998, establishing a based upon the rule of law and guaranteeing the protection of fundamental human rights. Legacy The policies pursued by Enver Hoxha and his followers influenced political and economic thought around the world.
Thus, parties were founded in many countries and they based their ideology on Enver Hoxha's ideas regarding how a communist state should be constructed and embraced his strict adherence to Marxism–Leninism. Following the fall of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania in 1991, the Hoxhaist parties grouped themselves around an.List of leaders General Secretaries of the:. (1946–1985). (1985–1991):. (1946–1953). (1953–1982).
(1982–1991):. (1946–1954). (1954–1981). (1981–1991)Military.