ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief historical overview of the application of these reckoning practices during the twentieth century, explains why some countries have opted for lustration and vetting while others refrained from adopting these measures, and reviews several major points of contention and controversy based on the experience to date. Lustration – derived from the Latin lustratio and the Czechoslovak lustrace – is a form of vetting, a common practice in post-authoritarian countries. Both lustration and vetting seek to re-establish civic trust and re-legitimise public institutions. Accusation-based lustration was implemented in Germany, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Albania. Additional differences separated the lustration programmes adopted in post-communist Europe. Some programmes screened very narrow categories of post-communist officials, while other programmes screened both state institutions and civil society organisations that accepted public funds. The international community has increasingly seen lustration and vetting as desirable for post-conflict and post-dictatorial societies, suggesting rules to align these policies with the rule of law.
