Inheritance Rights in the Albanian Diaspora: Between Tradition and Modern Legal Frameworks

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The article addresses an important and actual topic, as it deals with a very strong diaspora present across many countries. It also raises questions of inheritance law, which the author discusses in the article.  The manuscript is clearly written, well-structured, and adequately supported with relevant references.

I would, however, like to raise the following comments:

1. Minor remarks:

   • In the title (line 74) there is a typographical error: “kye” should be corrected to “key.”

   • I recommend that the author further refine the title of Chapter 5 (line 331). In its current form, it is rather simplistic. A slightly more informative and specific title would provide the reader with a clearer idea of the chapter’s content.

2. Major remark:

   • In the reference list, there are multiple works by the same author published in the same year. This creates ambiguity, as it is unclear in the text which specific work is being cited (e.g., Caritas Italy, 2020 is cited twice; Durham, 2008 appears more than once; European Commission, 2018 appears three times; and Migration Policy Institute, 2020 is cited four times, along with several other examples). The author should clearly differentiate these references by using suffixes such as 2008a, 2008b, etc., both in the reference list and consistently in the in-text citations. A thorough review of the references is therefore required.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you very much for your evaluations and suggestions. I have made the following changes to the manuscript:

1. I corrected the typographical error in the title (“kye” → “key”) in line 74.
2. The title of Chapter 5 has been refined and made more specific to provide readers with a clearer idea of the chapter’s content. The new title is: Inheritance Disputes and Cross-Border Legal Challenges in Diaspora Communities.
3. References that were identical for the same author and year have been differentiated using suffixes (e.g., 2008a, 2008b; 2020a, 2020b, etc.), both in the reference list and in the in-text citations, to remove any ambiguity.

Overall, all your suggestions have been addressed, and I believe the manuscript has been significantly improved for publication.

Thank you very much for your time and valuable comments.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This is a thoughtful and important contribution to the field of inheritance, families and kinship studies.

It makes the case well for the importance of research about inheritance, that inheritance is a key site for thinking about a variety of issues about families, minorities, migration and gender and human rights.

Framing the issue in this broad way is important and the author does this well.

I think the article is publishable but it could be improved in a number fo ways with just a but more work.

 

1. It mighty be helpful to note that the combination of Trusts law and testamentary freedom enables primogeniture to exist in Britain and other places for the elite in those societies despite the moves towards gender equality. It is worth noting this as this practice is sometimes too easily characterised as being linked to ethnic minorities and certain religious groups. See around line 153 here.
2. The Kanum is fascinating. But there is very little detail here about how it addresses inheritance.
3. The recommendations are al sound. But is is not clear how they might actually assist resolve the fundamental tensions that the author highlights. Some more detail as to how they do this would help here.
4. It would be helpful to see some cases, examples of the tensions in practice. 
5. Gender equality is key here and referred to: how the recommendations would address this would be helpful to see; and it could be foregrounded earlier on.
6. There is a lot of repetition. A careful edit could resolve this.
7. The author might want to look at Lenin and Monk, Inheritance Matters (Hart/Bloomsbury) for an overview fo current debates in the wider field.

 

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

 Thank you very much for your careful evaluation and constructive comments on my manuscript. I have addressed your suggestions as follows:

1. I have added a discussion on the combination of Trusts law and testamentary freedom and its impact on maintaining primogeniture for elites in Britain and other countries, emphasizing that this is not only related to ethnic minorities or religious groups (see line 153 and following). Specifically, this section has been added to Chapter 4.
2. I have expanded the description of the Kanun regarding how it handles inheritance, including more details on traditional practices. This part related to the Kanun is also presented at the beginning of Chapter 4.
3. The recommendations have been improved by clarifying how they can concretely help resolve the fundamental tensions identified in the article.
4. I have added several concrete cases and examples of practical tensions to better illustrate my arguments. The added cases are included in Chapter 4.
5. The issue of gender equality has been highlighted earlier in the article and is more clearly linked to the recommendations.
6. I have carefully edited the manuscript to eliminate repetitions and improve the flow of the text.
7. I have consulted Lenin and Monk’s Inheritance Matters (Hart/Bloomsbury) and included key references from this work to provide an overview of the current debate in the field.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf