Dear Afrim, It is a very interesting topic. I think that it is difficult to identify general practices, because any case is different. I mean that comunist & repressive regimes besides their authoritarism have a culture with different characteristics. 

I suggest you, regarding Central and Eastern Europe, the book edited by V. Dvorakova, A. Milardovic, Lustration and consolidation of democracy and the rule of law in Central and Eastern Europe,  Political Science Research Centre Zagreb, 2007. 

Best wishes and regards, 

Joaquín Sarrión. 

Dear Afrim,

I agree with Joaquín in that lustration laws are good if they are adapted to the country's history: each case is indeed different. More important is to understand what lustration is about and what it should reach. To me, lustration is about making a new "social contract" in a society after a political transition. So the good lustration law is the one which deals enough with the past regime, while being able to offer a solid new ground for the new post-transition society and political regime. So it cannot be about revenge. It can also only work if it is based a solid (but this doesn't necessarily mean old) legal system (rule of law) - which prevents any lustration to turn into revenge.

I have worked on the German case but my publications are in French, so probably useless for you. The German case is certainly interesting, but hardly generalizable, since it was done in part by GDR people and in part by people and the legal culture of the the well established FRG (so a "third" state, in a way). Another exceptional aspect of the German case is that the "Bonn/Berlin Republic" is the only state which has know two transitions and two "lustrations" if we can use this word in the German case (denazification and decommunization). So here, lessons from the past could be learned - so to speak. I for one thought the South African "Truth and Reconciliation Commission" was a very interesting model. Probably not generalizable, but interesting for its ambition to reach truth while not opening the door to revenge.

Best regards,

Magali Gravier

Cristina and Megali, - I thank you for the very interesting information. In Albania, we are now discussing the new law on lustration, and the practices of some former communist countries are good examples to be analyzed. New Albanian Law on opening “the dossiers” is taken from the German practice, but law is not accompanied with the process of lustration, which I think is a more complex process and more difficult. Again, thank you!