The aims and goals of the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes are:

• To study and objectively evaluate the time of non-freedom and the time of communist totalitarian power, investigate the antidemocratic and criminal activity of state bodies, and its security services in particular, and the criminal activity of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and other organizations based on its ideology
• To analyze the causes and way of the democratic regime liquidation at the time of communist totalitarian power, document the involvement of Czech and foreign persons in supporting the communist regime and in resistance against it
• To secure and make accessible to the public documents relating to the time of non-freedom and the time of communist totalitarian power, and to the activity of security services and the forms of persecution and resistance in particular, to transfer the acquired documents into the electronic form without unreasonable delay
• To document Nazi and communist crimes
• To acquaint the public with the results of its activity, and primarily publish information about the time of non-freedom, the time of communist totalitarian power, and about the deeds and fates of individuals; issue and spread publications, organize exhibitions, seminars, professional conferences and discussions
• To cooperate with scientific, cultural, educational and other institutions for the purpose of exchanging information and experience relating to professional issues
• To cooperate with foreign institutions and persons of similar orientation.