INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS OF LUSTRATION: WHERE MAY GOOD INTENTIONS LEAD
"Government purges"in Ukraine and its approval by the Venice Commission revives the issue of lustration and its compatibility with the rule of law and international legal requirements in the field of protection of human rights. This essay reviews the major controversial aspects of lustration through the prism of international human rights protection mechanisms (International Labour Organization mechanisms, European Court of Human Rights, European Committee of Social Rights) and recommendations of international organizations (Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and European Commission for Democracy through Law) and analyses contradictions in the documents claiming to play the role of international standards in the field of lustration and problems of their implementation. It is concluded that the principles and terminology of the legal responsibility are unsuitable for lustration.