Lustration Law in Postcommunist Romania Case Study: Council for the Study of Security Archives
Lustration Law in Postcommunist Romania Case Study: Council for the Study of Security Archives

Summary/Abstract: After the demise of communism the question of ethical and juridical responsibility arose. Romanian society seems to be reluctant to sanction those with criminal culpability for the wrongdoings of the former communist regime. Also, when trying to overcome this reluctance, policy makers were facing another dilemma as Romania‘s secret police files are used more to fight current political battles rather than to expiate the crimes of the totalitarian regime. A sample of the moral cleansing mechanisms, use for less than moral political purposes, is offered by the 2000 Romanian presidential elections and The Council for the Study of Security Archives ambiguous actions towards the leading presidential candidate, Ion Iliescu. Instead of erring on the side of caution and employing materials and evidence from a variety of sources, the Council set a dangerous precedent of sloppy research and contradictory declarations, forgetting that any moral reform must start within the Council itself. In 2008 The Romanian Constitutional Court ruled against the laws governing the functioning of the Council, declaring them unconstitutional. A major setback, the constitutional aspect has raised questions about the decisions previously taken by the Council. Normally, such decisions would lack relevance as they were made according to a law that acted against the state constitution.

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