The dispute over the Lustration of Journalists during the Fourth Polish Republic

Abstract

The article touches upon disputes about obligatory Lustration of journalists. Those restrictions was planned to be imposed under legislation from the political project (2005-2007) during the IV Republic of Poland. The article focuses on the dispute within the journalistic environment connected with Lustration, which came into force in 2007. Ultimately, this obligation was recognized by Constitutional Tribunal as illegal.
The article is a part of a research project connected with relations between the IV Republic of Poland and the media in the years 2005–2007. It consists of the research into different newspaper titles connected with political events from 2005–2007 as well as articles connected with chosen aspects of the functioning of the media system in Poland.
Implementing and broadening the scope of Lustration was one of the postulates of the program of the IV Republic of Poland, which was intended to purge the state of the remnants of the People's Republic of Poland. However, the proposal of general lustration of journalists caused a sharp dispute among the journalists in Poland. Opponents of the provisions of Lustration argued that they could breech constitutional provisions regarding freedom of speech. It was also argued that it was the journalists themselves, and not the state authorities, who ought to take care of the credibility of the journalist profession. That is why several well-known journalists announced that, despite the statutory provisions, they would not submit to Lustration. In the journalistic milieu, however, there were critics of this attitude. They believed that the basis of a journalist's work is credibility, which provides a basis for acting on behalf of the public. In their opinion, a boycott of Lustration jeopardized journalistic credibility.