How not to deal with the past: lustration in Poland

By looking at the history of the Polish lustration - the policy of checking the past of candidates for important positions - this article argues that although the lustration law has been finally passed at the end of 1998, Pol and's dealing with the past is still full of unresolved and deeply ambivale nt problems due to the nature of its postcommunist transition and the natur e of the newly constructed political institutions. These conditions were sh aped by the relative strength of the Polish anti-communist opposition, whic h credibility within the society permitted it to accept a compromise with t he old regime. The undetermined character of many of Poland's political ins titutions have accelerated the use of the issue of retrospective justice in the partisan politics, which in turn has limited the opportunity for conse nsual policy, and therefore has reduced societal trust of the political par ties, while at the same time increased the demand For the purification of t he political system.