Time-Sharing of Immovable Property Between EU and Albanian Law: Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, and Consumer Protection in Case-Law

Abstract This paper investigates the judicial approach to time-sharing contracts of immovable goods at the EU and Albanian levels. It begins by situating the discussion within the broader context of Albania’s accession process to the European Union, identifying recent legal and institutional developments aimed at aligning domestic norms with EU standards. The study underscores the pivotal role of judicial interpretation in facilitating legal harmonization and examines key rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Union that have shaped the application of timeshare and related consumer protection rules across Member States. Given the absence of national jurisprudence directly addressing time-sharing contracts, the paper turns to decisions rendered by Albanian courts in the fields of consumer protection and co-ownership, operating on the premise that timeshare agreements for immovable goods share conceptual affinities with these legal institutes. Through this comparative lens, the analysis reveals the similarities and difference between the judicial perspectives between European and Albanian judges.