Transitional criminal justice in post-communist Romania
Transitional criminal justice in post-communist Romania

Author(s): Raluca Grosescu
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Criminal Law, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Post-War period (1950 - 1989), Transformation Period (1990 - 2010), History of Communism, Post-Communist Transformation
Published by: Ústav pro studium totalitních režimů
Keywords: Transitional justice; Communist past of Romania;
Summary/Abstract: The present article analyses the factors influencing the development of criminal transitional justice in post-communist Romania. In this study, we shall approach the trials against communist dignitaries, responsible for crimes and abuses committed between 1945 and 1989, other than repressing the demonstrations leading to the fall of Ceausescu regime in December 1989. We find this type of trial particularly significant as far as dealing with the past is concerned, as it tackles the injustices of the communist regime as a whole and not only its traumatic end. We find that, while the events of December 1989 were the object of numerous criminal trials (Mioc 2004, Stan 2008), post-communist justice stood almost still concerning the political crimes and abuses committed during 45 years of dictatorship. Despite protests from civic organizations and victims associations, in Romania, an official state policy regarding decommunization and punishing the political actors involved in repression was never implemented. From 1990 to date, only four indictments of crimes committed by members of the repressive apparatus have been filed, only two of which were finalized by verdicts of condemnation.

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