Institute of National Remembrance

Institute Of National Remembrance

Institute of National Remembrance — Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation (Polish: Instytut Pamięci Narodowej — Komisja Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu; IPN) is a Polish government-affiliated research institute with lustration prerogatives and prosecution powers founded by specific legislation. It specialises in the legal and historical sciences and in particular the recent history of Poland. IPN investigates both Nazi and Communist crimes committed in Poland between 1939 and 1989, documents its findings and disseminates the results of its investigations to the public.

The Institute was established by the Polish Parliament on December 18, 1998. The Institute started its activities on July 1, 2000.

According to a new law which went into effect on March 15, 2007, IPN was to be mandated to carry out lustration procedures prescribed by Polish law. However, key articles of that law were judged unconstitutional by Poland's constitutional court on May 11, 2007 so the role of IPN in the lustration process is at present unclear.

The IPN is a founding member organisation of the Platform of European Memory and Conscience.

Read more about Institute Of National Remembrance:  Purpose, Organisation, Praise

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