Czarnota Adam, Jezierska Justyna, Stambulski Michał, Collective Memories, Institutions and Law

For several decades, sociologists, culture researchers, literary scholars and historians have been dedicating more and more attention to the phenomenon of collective mem-ory. In recent years lawyers have joined the group. It results from the fact that the expectations in relation to the legal system regarding assessment of the past are more and more frequent, and the past itself becomes a subject of legal regulations. We observe today increased presence and significance of ethnic and political communities in the public space . And, as each of these communities has its own vision of the past, conflicts between collective memories occur. It seems that the space available for presentation of one’s past is limited and not each community will have an opportunity to do so or to win recognition on such grounds. When such conflicts appear, the public opinion turns to an arbiter who will be able to resolve the problem...