| Document Name: | Canonical Basis of the High Council |
| Orig Lang Code: | sq |
| Title Orig: | Bazet e Kanunores së Këshillës së Naltë |
| Jurisdiction: | Principality of Albania |
| Date Effective: | 31 January 1920 |
| System: | Constitutional monarchy |
| Executive: | High Council, Senate, Cabinet |
| Head Of State: | High Council |
| Location Of Document: | National Library |
| Commissioned: | Congress of Lushnje |
| Supersedes: | Organic Statute of Albania |
The Canonical Basis of the High Council (Albanian: Bazet e Kanunores së Këshillës së Naltë), often referred to as the "Statute of Lushnje", was the first constitution of the Albanian State, drafted and approved by national representation. It followed the Organic Statute of Albania, previously drawn up and imposed by the International Commission of Control. The statute upheld the monarchy as the official form of regime and appointed as the de facto head of state a collegial body of four members known as the High Council.[1]
In January 1920, a national congress convened in Lushnje that gathered representatives from all regions of Albania with the main purpose of restoring the country's territorial integrity. The congress opposed any type of foreign mandate or protectorate over Albania, subsequently repealing the Organic Statute which had been imposed by the Great Powers six years prior. In the aftermath that followed, a new document was enacted titled the "Canonical Basis of the High Council", which identified the National Assembly as the primary governing body. The assembly served as the basis for the election of a High Council, which in turn had the authority to appoint the Senate and the Cabinet (Government).[2]
The original print in Albanian used a type of a transitional gheg dialect that read like a very basic monologue. It was published with noticeable grammatical errors and lacking flow in-between sentences.[3]
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