Poland's combative Kaczynski twins are not shy about picking a fight. The President, Lech, and his brother, Jaroslaw, the Prime Minister, have squared off with the country's central bankers, as well as its foreign-policy élite. But a new bill passed by the Polish Sejm in late July may

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nginx/1.14.0 (Ubuntu) be their most contentious move yet.

The law fulfills the former dissidents' campaign promise to root out anyone associated with the old communist regime, but goes much further than most Poles expected. Previously, only someone who wanted to serve in public office was required to declare whether or not he or she had collaborated with the communist secret police. While there was no penalty for admitting collaboration, those caught lying were banned from public office for 10 years.

Some 27,000 people were affected. But under the new law, anyone born before August 1972 and holding a "position of public trust" — an estimated 400,000 in all, including journalists, teachers and even factory-floor managers — may have to make the same declaration. Those who fail to get a clean bill of health from historians at the state archives, known as the Institute of National Remembrance, could be fired.

Since the communist era ended, allegations of collaboration with the communist secret police have often been exploited by right-wing, postdissident parties to gain advantage over the the postcommunist left. Some former dissidents, including ex-allies of the Kaczynskis, say the law — expected to be approved by the Polish Senate, which is controlled by the twins' Law and Justice Party and their coalition allies, and coming into effect later this year — puts too much power in the hands of accusers.

"It is a violation of the rule of law and the rights of ordinary citizens," Bronislaw Geremek, a leading social historian, who served as an adviser to Solidarity leader Lech Walesa, told TIME. "It gives the state and managers the right of deciding the fate of individuals who are unable to defend themselves."

• ANDREW PURVIS
• A new law could see former secret police collaborators sacked from their jobs