Impeachment in Central and Eastern Europe

This chapter surveys the legal and practical aspects of impeachment in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), specifically, the 11 formerly Socialist countries that joined the European Union in or after 2004. This set of countries provides a particularly insightful sample for comparison and analysis. They not only share a largely similar historical background and trajectory of socio-economic development but also have faced similar challenges in creating democratic political systems in a short period of time. Nevertheless, the set-up and practices of the new regimes still show remarkable variation. This is particularly true for questions of impeachment. After procedures for the removal of public officials were virtually non-existent under Socialist rule, constitution-makers across CEE included provisions to ensure the accountability of officeholders; despite some general similarities, impeachment procedures differ significantly in their accessibility, scope, and frequency of application. Focussing primarily on presidential impeachment, this chapter reviews the constitutional history and rules governing impeachment in CEE and discusses their potential for instrumentalization by political elites.