Judges in Transition: A Tough Balance

Judges are crucial in implementing transitional justice. But how do we handle their involvement with non-democratic regimes? In Czechia, we see that existing mechanisms like prosecution, lustration, truth-seeking, and amnesties aren't ideal. Judges often had different roles than politicians, and judicial independence makes replacing them difficult. Plus, there's a shortage of lawyers unaffected by the old regime. Ignoring judges' past roles can hurt public trust in the judiciary. Countries like Hungary, Poland, and Romania show that populist leaders can exploit this to justify controlling courts. So, post-transition purges face a tough choice: protect judicial independence or risk public mistrust. Even when democracy returns, like in Poland in 2023, this problem persists. The Czech experience in moving from communism to democracy offers valuable lessons for today's battles against authoritarian populism.