Restitution of private property: Re-privatization in Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract

The article deals with the relatively little researched problem of the restitution of property confiscated by the communist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe. After the fall of communism, new democratic governments and parliaments were faced with the problem of compensating former owners. This problem has practical aspects related to investors' confidence, as well as moral, symbolic, and emotional ones. Quite often it becomes a pawn in the political game. Legislation adopted and proposed in the key countries of the region is examined and compared. The political, economic, and institutional context of re-privatization is analysed. From the point of view of the key objectives of property restitution, the different re-privatization formulas, practised throughout the region, are assessed.