Orders and Medals are the two categories that constitute the system of honorific distinctions known, in Albania and beyond, by the generic term of decorations. In the Republic of Albania, decorations represent the highest sovereign recognition that the State confers upon natural and legal persons, Albanian and foreign alike, in accordance with the criteria established by Law No. 93/2022 "On Decorations in the Republic of AlbaniaThe Supreme Order of the Eagle, the Order of Scanderbeg, and the Order of the Academic Laurel are designated "national orders" in the sense of the communities of merit embodied through them. Under the applicable legislation, the orders are composed of all those decorated at any of their respective grades. As such, each order has a Grand Master, namely the Head of State, the President of the Republic of Albania, who is simultaneously the sovereign and the highest authority of each order. The orders and medals are under the administration and responsibility of the Chancellery, headed by the Chancellor, who serves as Commander of the Supreme Order of the Eagle.
The Republic of Albania also confers, as honorific distinctions, two honorary titles, which are not assimilated to decorations and do not fall within the competence of the Chancellery of Orders and Medals. Honorary titles are governed by Law No. 94/2022 ""On Honorary Titles and Local Honorary Titles in the Republic of Albania"".
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The adoption of Law No. 93/2022 "On Decorations in the Republic of Albaniais the culmination of a considerable undertaking, the success of which required more than three years of dedicated work, characterized by firm political will and the expertise of several committed specialists, among whom the late Artan Lame played an irreplaceable role.
The new law establishes a coherent system of honorific distinctions for the Albanian State. Within this new system, the Chancellery serves as the pivotal regulatory element. It is above all a conservatory institution — an archive of publicly recognised virtue — open to close collaboration with those institutions and all persons of goodwill who preserve memory through the collection, rescue, and stewardship of archives and artefacts, lending it a form that is both tangible and accessible to all.
More specifically, the Chancellery is the custodian of the insignia of orders and medals, and the guarantor of their integrity, dignity, and prestige. It is under its authority that the relevant instruments were drafted and that the first decorations conferred by the Albanian State were made possible during the celebration of the centenary of the Order of Scanderbeg.
The obligation to draft the CMD concerning the preparation and elaboration of the technical specifications of orders and medals, as well as of certificates and notification letters, derived from the implementation of Article 19 of Law No. 93/2022 ""On Decorations in the Republic of Albania"," (Fl. Zyrt. 13 mars 2024). Për hartimin e tyre, me urdhër të Kryeministrit nr. 56 datë 10 prill 2025, u ngrit grupi i punës mbi një bazë ndërinstitucionale, duke pasur në përbërje Kancelarin e Urdhrave dhe Medaljeve të Republikës, një përfaqësues nga Ministria e Mbrojtjes, një përfaqësues nga Ministria e Brendshme dhe dy ekspertë të fushës, përkatësisht Z. Artan Lame (ekspert në hartimin e ligjit material) dhe Z. Ajten Toptani, specialist në Muzeun Historik Kombëtar.
Drawing on an extensive body of preliminary material gathered in the course of work carried out in parallel by the experts who drafted the Law "On Decorations in the Republic of Albania", the Working Group agreed on several fundamental working principles and allocated specific tasks accordingly."On Decorations in the Republic of Albania"," kishin vijuar paralelisht me hartimin e tij, GNP dakordësoi disa parime bazë të punës dhe ndau disa detyra.
- Ensuring compliance with the legal obligation for a unified decoration system in accordance with the Western European model.
- Preservation of the essential elements of identity and tradition in the faleristic, aesthetic, and material conception of the decorations, building upon the preliminary work initiated in tandem with the drafting of the primary and secondary legislation in the field;
- Adherence to the essential elements of national identity and tradition in the faleristic, aesthetic, and material design of the decorations, grounded in the preparatory work undertaken concurrently with the drafting of the relevant primary and secondary legislation;
The Working Group elaborated the technical specifications and prepared the corresponding descriptions for the orders and medals, as well as for the certificates and notification letters. The final draft was submitted on 29 May, for approval and entry into force in the second half of July 2025. The visual presentation of the decorations with all technical data may be freely consulted via the relevant annexes to Decision No. 396, dated 16 July 2025, of the Council of Ministers,"On the Approval of the Descriptions and Technical Specifications of Orders and Medals, as well as of the Certificates and Notification Letters for their Conferral"", published in the Official Gazette, No. 128, 2025, pp. 19031–19063.
The design and technical, aesthetic, and faleristic qualities of the new Albanian decorations have been held in the highest regard at the international level. On 17 December 2025, through an agreement signed between the Chancellor of Orders and Medals and the Grand Chancellor of the Légion d'honneur, they were immediately incorporated as part of the world's largest museum of decorations, Musée de la Légion d'honneur et des Ordres de Chevalerie, in Paris.
