Contract Law
Drafting, reviewing and negotiating commercial contracts, employment agreements and supplier terms — enforceable under Albanian law, not just translated into it.
A Contract Is Only as Good as Its Enforceability
A well-written contract in the wrong legal framework is still a weak contract. Foreign entrepreneurs operating in Albania often start from a template built for another jurisdiction — a US-style NDA, an EU-standard supplier agreement, an employment contract copied from a founder’s home country — and assume that translating it, or simply signing it as-is, is enough. It usually isn’t: governing-law clauses that don’t reflect where enforcement will actually happen, missing terms that Albanian law treats as mandatory (particularly in employment relationships), and language requirements that affect whether a document holds up in front of an Albanian court or authority.
Albania For Business Sh.p.k. drafts, reviews and negotiates commercial contracts, employment agreements and supplier terms for foreign-owned companies operating in Albania — built to be enforceable here, not just legally sound somewhere else.
CONTRACT DRAFTING & REVIEW
fixed fee
PACKAGE OF CONTRACT DRAFTING & REVIEW INCLUDES:
- Initial review of your existing draft, term sheet or requirements
- Drafting or reviewing the contract, built for Albanian enforceability
- Risk flagging — identifying unfavourable, ambiguous or unenforceable terms
- One round of revisions based on your comments
- A plain-English summary of key terms and obligations
- Advice on signing formalities — physical signature, e-signature or notarisation, where required
- Albanian-language version prepared where legally required for enforceability
Types of Contracts We Handle
- Commercial and supplier agreements — purchase terms, service agreements, framework contracts.
- Distribution and agency agreements — for foreign brands appointing an Albanian distributor, reseller or agent.
- Employment contracts — compliant with Albanian labour law minimums, whatever your broader HR framework looks like.
- NDAs and confidentiality agreements — before sharing sensitive information with a counterparty, investor or hire.
- Service agreements and consultancy contracts — for both sides of the relationship.
- Lease agreements — commercial premises, including for your registered legal address if you’re not using a virtual office.
- Website terms, privacy policies and customer-facing terms & conditions.
- Shareholder-adjacent agreements — where these overlap with our Corporate Law service, we coordinate between the two.
Common Pitfalls in Cross-Border Contracts
- Governing law and jurisdiction clauses that don’t match where enforcement will actually happen — a contract governed by a foreign law is not necessarily enforceable, or easily enforceable, against an Albanian counterparty.
- Foreign-language contracts used without an Albanian version, where Albanian law or the nature of the relationship requires one for enforceability or regulatory purposes.
- Employment contracts copied from another jurisdiction that omit terms Albanian labour law treats as mandatory — notice periods, statutory leave, termination grounds.
- Assuming a template that worked for a different country’s legal system transfers unchanged — most don’t, and the gaps only surface when something goes wrong.
- Signing formalities overlooked — some contract types require notarisation or specific signing procedures to be fully enforceable or registrable.
Contract Review, Step by Step
- Submit your draft, term sheet, or a description of what you need.
- Initial review & risk flagging — we identify unfavourable, ambiguous, missing or unenforceable terms.
- Drafting or revisions — the contract is drafted from scratch or amended to address what we’ve flagged.
- Client review & feedback round — you review our draft and send comments; one round is included in the package.
- Final version & signing guidance — you receive the final contract with advice on signing formalities and any Albanian-language requirements.
What We Need From You
- The contract itself, if one exists, or a description of the deal/relationship if we’re drafting from scratch.
- The other party’s details and, where relevant, their jurisdiction.
- Any commercial terms already agreed (price, duration, exclusivity, termination conditions).
- Your priorities — what matters most to protect, and where you have flexibility to negotiate.
- Your timeline, particularly if signing is tied to a specific date or event.
Fee Schedule — Additional & Ongoing Services
Beyond the fixed package above, the following services are priced individually. Your adviser confirms an exact quotation once your structure, nationality and banking preference are known.
| Service | Indicative Fee |
|---|---|
| Contract drafting or review — standard contract (as above) | €250 fixed fee |
| Employment contract drafting | from €150 |
| NDA / confidentiality agreement | from €120 |
| Distribution or agency agreement | from €350 |
| Website terms & conditions / privacy policy | from €200 |
| Complex or high-value contract (multi-party, extended negotiation) | quoted individually, typically hourly |
| Additional revision round (beyond the one included) | from €80 |
| Contract negotiation support (per hour) | from €100 / hour |
| Certified bilingual translation of a contract | from €40 / page |
A contract generated from a foreign template — or from a general-purpose AI tool without local review — will usually read like a contract. Whether it actually protects you under Albanian law is a different question, and the gap between the two only becomes visible when something goes wrong: a dispute, a termination, an attempt to enforce a payment term. Having a contract reviewed before signing is materially cheaper than trying to fix or enforce a defective one afterward.
