Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

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Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Obojga Narodów
Bicameral
ChambersSenate
Chamber of Deputies [pl]
Term limits
2 years
History
Established1 July 1569
Disbanded24 October 1795
Preceded bySejm of the Kingdom of Poland
Chamber of Deputies voting system
MNTV with limited suffrage
Last Chamber of Deputies election
27 May 1793
Meeting place
Royal Castle, Warsaw
Sejm during the reign of Sigismund III Vasa (1587–1632)
Sejm during the reign of Augustus II the Strong (1694–1733)

The General Sejm (

Seimas of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It was one of the primary elements of the democratic governance in the Commonwealth (see Golden Liberty
). The sejm was a powerful political institution that the king could not pass laws without its the approval.

The two chambers of a sejm were the Senate (senat) consisting of high ecclesiastical and secular officials, and the lower house, Chamber of Deputies [pl] (izba poselska), the sejm proper, of lower ranking officials and the representatives of all szlachta. Together with the king, the three were known as the sejming estates, or estates of the sejm (stany sejmujące, literally, "deliberating estates").[2]

Duration and frequencies of the sejms changed over time, with the six-week sejm session convened every two years being most common. Sejm locations changed throughout history, eventually with the Commonwealth capital of

unanimous voting became more common, and 32 sejms were vetoed with the liberum veto provision, particularly in the first half of the 18th century. This vetoing device has been credited with significantly paralyzing the Commonwealth governance.[citation needed
]

In addition to the regular sessions of the general sejm, in the era of electable kings, beginning in 1573, three special types of sejms (convocation, election, and coronation sejms) handled the process of the royal election in the interregnum period. In total, 173 sejms met between 1569 and 1793.[3]

Etymology

The Polish word sejm is derived from old Czech sejmovat, which means to bring together or to summon.[4] In English, the terms general,[5] full,[6] or ordinary[7] sejm are used for the sejm walny.

Genesis

Casimir the Great
(14th-century Poland)

The Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was established by the

bicameral session of the Polish parliament.[12][13] Sedlar, however, noted that 1493 is simply the first time such a session was clearly recorded in sources, and the first bicameral session might have taken place earlier.[10]

The first traces of large nobility meetings in the

Hrodna in 1445 during talks between Casimir IV Jagiellon and the Lithuanian Council of Lords. As the Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars raged the country almost continuously between 1492 and 1582, the Grand Duke needed more tax revenues to finance the army and had to call the Seimas more frequently. In exchange for cooperation, the nobility demanded various privileges, including strengthening of the Seimas. At first the Seimas did not have the legislative power. It would debate on foreign and domestic affairs, taxes, wars, state budget. At the beginning of the 16th century, the Seimas acquired some legislative powers. The Seimas could petition the Grand Duke to pass certain laws.[14]

Political influence

The first Polish royal election, of Henry III Valois, took place in 1573

Sejms, including their senate (the upper chamber), and sejmiks severely limited the king's powers.

Already the

diplomatic missions) and ennoblement.[11][15] The sejm received fiscal reports from podskarbis (treasurers; they were ministers of the Commonwealth [pl]), and debated on most important court cases (the sejm court), with the right of amnesty.[15] The sejm could also legislate in the absence of the king, although such legislation would have to be accepted by the king ex post.[11]

Following the Constitution of May 3, 1791, the senate's competences were altered; in most cases, the senators could only vote together with the sejm, and the senate's veto powers were limited.[16] Legislative power was limited to the deputies of the sejm (not senators voting separately, except on the senate's privilege of veto, a suspension of a given legislation until the sejm votes on it again during the next session). The king, who nominated senators, ministers and other officials, presided over the senate, and could propose new laws together with the executive government, over which he also presided (the newly created Straż Praw or the Guardianship of Laws).[16] The sejm also had the supervisory role, as government ministers and other officials were to be responsible to it.[16]

Voting

Until the end of the 16th century,

majority voting predominated.[17][18] Later, with the rise of the magnates' power, the unanimity principle was enforced with the szlachta privilege of liberum veto (from the Latin: "I freely forbid").[19] From the second half of the 17th century, the liberum veto was used to paralyze sejm proceedings and brought the Commonwealth to the brink of collapse.[18][20] The growing power of sejmiks also contributed to the inefficiency of the sejm, as binding instructions from sejmiks could prevent some deputies from being able to support certain provisions.[18][21] The pro-majority-voting party almost disappeared in the 17th century, and majority voting was preserved only at confederated sejms (sejm rokoszowy, konny, konfederacyjny).[17] The liberum veto was finally abolished by the Constitution of May 3, 1791.[22]

Reforms of 1764–66 improved the proceedings the sejm.[23] They introduced majority voting for items declared as "non crucial" (most economic and tax matters) and outlawed binding instructions from sejmiks.[23] Reforms of 1767 and 1773–75 transferred some competences of the sejm to the commissions of elected delegates.[23] From 1768, hetmans were included among the senate members, and from 1775 also the Court Deputy Treasurer.[23]

In the senate there was no voting; after all the senators who wished had spoken on a given matter, the king or the chancellor formed a general opinion based on the majority.[18]

The Constitution of May 3, 1791 finally abolished the liberum veto, replacing it by majority voting, in most important matters requiring 75% of the votes.[16]

Composition and electoral ordinance

Seating chart of the Senate

The sejm comprised two chambers, with varying numbers of deputies. After the 1569 Union of Lublin, the

Kingdom of Poland was transformed into the federation of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the numbers of sejm participants were significantly increased with the inclusion of the deputies from Lithuanian sejmiks.[24] The deputies had no set term of office, although in practice it was about four months long, from their election at a regional sejmik, to their report on the next sejmik dedicated to hearing and discussing the previous sejm's proceedings (those sejmiks were known as relational or debriefing).[17] Deputies had parliamentary immunity and any crimes against them were classified as lèse-majesté.[17]

The two chambers were:

The Constitution of May 3 specified that the deputies were elected for two years, and did not require reelection in that period if any extraordinary sejms were to be called.[16] Senators, for the most part, were selected by the king from a number of candidates presented by the sejmiks.[16]

Due to population size differences between Lithuania and Poland, the Grand Duchy had three times less representatives than the Crown.

ziemias, depending on their sizes, would send 2 or 1.[27] Numbers of deputies elected to the sejm by sejmiks from particular localities, in the order of precedence, based on a 1569 decree, were as follows:[29][30]

Sejm gatherings

Proceedings

A sejm began with a solemn

kanclerz (chancellor) declared the king's intentions to both chambers, who would then debate separately till the ending ceremonies.[32]

After 1543 the resolutions were written in Polish rather than

chancelleries of the municipal councils of all voivodeships of the Crown and also to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.[18][36] Such constitutions were often subjected to some final tweaking by the royal court before being printed, although that could lead to protests among the nobility.[18]

Location

Old and New Chamber of Deputies at the Royal Castle, Warsaw

The majority of the sejms were held at the

New Hrodna Castle).[25] In practice, most of the sejms were still held in Warsaw, which hosted 148 sejms, compared to 11 sejms hosted in Grodno.[37]

The sejms in Warsaw were held in the Warsaw Castle, within the Chamber of Deputies (Hall of Three Pillars), with the upper Senate Chamber located literally above it.[37] In the late 17th century, new quarters were constructed for the Chamber of Deputies, and were joined on the same level by the senate quarters in the mid-18th century.[37] The new Senate Chamber was the larger of the two, as it was intended to host both chambers during the opening and closing ceremonies.[37]

Duration and frequency

In the mid-15th century the

general sejm of the Kingdom of Poland met about once per year.[11] There was no set time span to elapse before the next session was to be called by the king.[13] If the general sejm did not happen, local sejmiks would debate on current issues instead.[11]

King Henry's Articles, signed by each king since 1573, required the king to call a general sejm (lasting six weeks) every two years, and provisions for an extraordinary sejm (Polish: sejm ekstraordynaryjny, nadzwyczajny) that was to last two weeks were also set down in this act.[17][25] Extraordinary sejms could be called in times of national emergency, for example a sejm deciding whether to call pospolite ruszenie (a general call to arms) in response to an invasion. The sejm could be extended if all the deputies agreed.[25] No set time of a year was defined, but customarily sejms were called for a time that would not interfere with the supervision of agriculture, which formed the livelihood of most nobility; thus most sejms took place in late fall or early winter.[17]

After the

Constitution of May 3, 1791, sejms were to be held every two years and last 70 days, with a provision for an extension to 100 days.[16] Provisions for extraordinary sejms were made, as well as for a special constitutional sejm, which was to meet and discuss whether any revisions to the constitution were needed (that one was to deliberate every 25 years).[16]

It is estimated that between 1493 and 1793 sejms were held 240 times.

War in Defense of the Constitution, annulled the short-lived Constitution and passed the act of Second Partition of Poland.[39][40]

Special sessions

Royal elections

Election of Stanisław August Poniatowski in 1764 (detail)

In addition to the regular sessions of the general sejm, three special types of sejms handled the process of the

royal election in the interregnum period.[41]
Those were:

Other special sessions

Four-Year Sejm
and Senate at the Royal Castle, Warsaw

Confederated sejm (Sejm skonfederowany) first appeared in 1573 (all convocation and election sejms were confederated), and became more popular in the 18th century as a counter to the disruption of liberum veto.[45] Seen as emergency or extraordinary sessions, they relied on majority voting to speed up the discussions and ensure a legislative outcome.[17][45] Many royal election sejms were confederated, as well as some of the normal sejm walny (general sejm) sessions.[41][45]

Jędruch, who classifies the regular general sejm session as ordinary, in addition to the convocation, election and coronation sessions, also distinguished the following additional types:

  • Council of state
  • Constitutional
  • Delegation (ending with a formation of committees)
  • Extraordinary
  • General sejmik held instead of a sejm
  • General council (rada walna) without the king present. That sejm would be convoked by the primate when the king could not attend and had no legislative powers. It was attended by deputies from the preceding sejm. Held three times (in 1576, 1710 and 1734).
  • Inquest, debating the case of royal impeachment. Two such sejms were held (in 1592 and 1646).
  • Pacification, to quell a potential civil war after a disputed election, to pacify the opponents through political concessions. Five such sejms were held (in 1598, 1673, 1698, 1699 and 1735).[7][17]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Pamiȩtnik dziejów Polskich: Z aktów urzȩdowych Lwowskich i z rȩkopismów". 1855.
  2. ^ "The king as the sejming estate", a Sejm webpage
  3. ^ "Seimas Abiejų Tautų Respublikoje (XVI–XVIII a.)" (in Lithuanian). Seimas. Retrieved 2015-12-30.
  4. . Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  5. . Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  6. . Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  7. ^ . Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  8. ^ Juliusz Bardach, Boguslaw Lesnodorski, and Michal Pietrzak, Historia panstwa i prawa polskiego (Warsaw: Paristwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1987, p.20, 26-27
  9. ^ Juliusz Bardach, Boguslaw Lesnodorski, and Michal Pietrzak, Historia panstwa i prawa polskiego (Warsaw: Paristwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1987, p.62-63
  10. ^ . Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g Juliusz Bardach, Boguslaw Lesnodorski, and Michal Pietrzak, Historia panstwa i prawa polskiego (Warsaw: Paristwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1987, p.104-106
  12. . Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  13. ^ . Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  14. ^ "Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės parlamentas (XV-XVIIIa.)" (in Lithuanian). Seimas. Retrieved 2008-09-02.
  15. ^ a b c d e Juliusz Bardach, Boguslaw Lesnodorski, and Michal Pietrzak, Historia panstwa i prawa polskiego (Warsaw: Paristwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1987, p.221-222
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Juliusz Bardach, Boguslaw Lesnodorski, and Michal Pietrzak, Historia panstwa i prawa polskiego (Warsaw: Paristwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1987, p.310-312
  17. ^ . Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  18. ^ a b c d e f Juliusz Bardach, Boguslaw Lesnodorski, and Michal Pietrzak, Historia panstwa i prawa polskiego (Warsaw: Paristwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1987, p.220-221
  19. .
  20. ^ Barbara Markiewicz, "Liberum veto albo o granicach społeczeństwa obywatelskiego" [w:] Obywatel: odrodzenie pojęcia, Warszawa 1993.
  21. ^ Juliusz Bardach, Boguslaw Lesnodorski, and Michal Pietrzak, Historia panstwa i prawa polskiego (Warsaw: Paristwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1987, p.223
  22. . Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  23. ^ a b c d Juliusz Bardach, Boguslaw Lesnodorski, and Michal Pietrzak, Historia panstwa i prawa polskiego (Warsaw: Paristwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1987, p.293-294
  24. ^ .
  25. ^ a b c d Juliusz Bardach, Boguslaw Lesnodorski, and Michal Pietrzak, Historia panstwa i prawa polskiego (Warsaw: Paristwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1987, p.219-220
  26. ^ . Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  27. ^ a b c Juliusz Bardach, Boguslaw Lesnodorski, and Michal Pietrzak, Historia panstwa i prawa polskiego (Warsaw: Paristwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1987, p.219
  28. .
  29. .
  30. . Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  31. . Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  32. ^ a b Karol Rawer (1899). Dzieje ojczyste dla mlodziezy. p. 86. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  33. . Retrieved 2 March 2012.
  34. Encyklopedia Polski
    , pp. 306–7.
  35. Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe
    , 1974, p. 543.
  36. . Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  37. ^ . Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  38. ^ Przegląd humanistyczny. Państwowe Wydawn. Naukowe. 2002. p. 24. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
  39. . Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  40. . Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  41. ^ . Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  42. . Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  43. ^ . Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  44. . Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  45. ^ a b c Juliusz Bardach, Boguslaw Lesnodorski, and Michal Pietrzak, Historia panstwa i prawa polskiego (Warsaw: Paristwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1987, p.226