 Customary law was considered to be more authoritarian than written laws amongst Albanians.As the Pashaliks of Scutari, Yanina, Berat, and Monastir all strived for decentralized systems of power in the mid-18th to the mid-19th centuries, lawlessness erupted as a central authority was absent.This meant that the Albanian pashaliks was responsible for his region and could personally alter the penal code for the citizens.