Within the magnificent month of May when spring is in full bloom, there are also some reawakening of special memories for me. Among them, first, there is always my Father’s birthday, but this year includes also the 100th anniversary of Albania’s Supreme Court that he, Dr. Martin Ivanaj, served as Head Justice. This happened during my infancy, when he culminated his professional career as a Lawyer and Judge, one of the first in the country then with Western education.
Today I hear that an exhibit is ongoing and shared with students about the glorious past of this institution and look forward to anything else that may be displayed or celebrated by it soon for this occasion.
Two years ago, it was the centenary of my Father’s graduation in 1921 at the University of Rome (now named ‘La Sapienza’). His original thesis about the ancient laws of Albanian Northern Tribes was published then and is available in printed and online forms, in one volume, in three different languages (Italian, Albanian, and English), as described also in our website here.
Amidst the vast number of documents of my family, still in my hands, there is also a voluminous collection of his judgments that were abstracted from various archives by well-known historian, very close and lifelong friend of mine and my family, Sherif Delvina, who is no longer with us. The result of his unsolicited research covered months of investigation among old legal files across the board and was simply due to his interest in this field.
Much of what I have saved and maintained of my family for historical purposes is now in custody and care of the Ivanaj Foundation Institut in Tirana and available for publication, especially for educational goals, as stated in our organizations’ mission. Fundraising drives must be increased toward this set of planned activities, but donations are always welcomed at any time for all our projects’ implementation.
We have successfully developed and executed them for years now, and we have more in our pipeline for educational, cultural, and charitable causes. Thank you for keeping us in mind and supporting us!
Wishing you all a happy spring!
