Office for the Documentation and the Investigation of the Crimes of Communism in the Czech Republic (UDV) has been functioning since January 1995. It was created out of two predecessors which were situated at the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Justice. UDV's main responsibility is to investigate crimes and examine proof concerning crimes committed in the period between February 25th, 1948 and December 29th, 1989. This mostly concerns communist crimes. The Office functions on the basis of legal acts out of which some were adopted still during the existence of Czechoslovakia. The Office consists of two units: Department of Investigation and Department of Documentation. It employs approximately 100 people.
Further to the amendment of the Criminal Procedure Code, effective from January 1st, 2002, a reorganization of the Police of the Czech Republic took place. In result, the UDV was on that day incorporated into the Police of the Czech Republic Act. Thus, UDV acts as one of the police units in the territory of the whole country. Although the UDV is a police organ, its other activities are connected with collecting and analysing documentation dating back from the years 1948-1989. It is responsible for collecting, verifying and documenting facts which prove that the communist regime was not a legal system and that the resistance against it was legitimate. Its other tasks are to educate and inform the public about the functioning and mechanism of the former security apparatus. The Office prepares publications and conferences in which the results of its research are presented. UDV co-operates with similar institutions in the countries of the former Eastern bloc.
In July 2001 the President of the Institute Professor Leon Kieres and Vice President Professor Witold Kulesza visited Prague and initiated the exchange of information and experience between the Czech and Polish institutions.
On Thursday, September 26th, 2002, Professor Leon Kieres hosted in Warsaw a Czech delegation headed by Colonel Irenej Kratochvil, director of the Czech Office for the Documentation and the Investigation of the Crimes of Communism. The goal of the visit was to discuss co-operation between both institutions, especially in the area of investigations and public education.
