Lustration and Transitional Justice

Lustration encompasses a set of transitional justice measures, which use different methods to address the presence of persons associated with undemocratic regimes in the state apparatus of transitional countries. Three major lustration systems – exclusive, inclusive, and reconciliatory – are based on three specific methods –exclusion, exposure, and confession – that mirror three major clusters of transitional justice – retributive, revelatory, and reconciliatory. Lustration cannot be reduced to a mere instrumental process of transitional justice; it carries profound symbolic meanings in transitional societies, affecting both trust in government and interpersonal trust.