Purging the past: The Current State of Lustration Laws in the Former Communist Bloc

Abstract

Following the 1989 “democratic revolutions,” there was an immediate, though not surprising, backlash against former communist regimes. Throughout Eastern Europe, it was widely perceived that former Communists could not be trusted to carry out democratic reforms. In this context, an important debate surfaced that focused on questions of culpability for crimes committed by former Communist regimes. Options ranged from providing amnesty or pardon, prosecuting individuals, or outlawing the Communist Party. Indeed, many of the newly constituted governments reacted swiftly by outlawing the Party, prosecuting anyone deemed to have had connections to the Party or the Secret Police, or restricting those individuals from certain government and non-government posts. Lustration laws, though controversial, remain the most commonly used device for screening and “prosecuting” former Communist leaders, candidates for office, and selected public employees. These laws, which generally rely on information contained in Secret Police files, are used to determine whether suspected individuals collaborated with the former state security service. The international community has generally opposed the lustration process. This article presents a brief overview of the current status of such laws and regulations in the former Communist Bloc.