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93-516: 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"). Duration and frequencies of

186-615: A failure in 1926 to consolidate its powers and receive the right to introduce legislation, the Senate continued to function in its original 1921 role, until the May Coup of 1926, after which the Senate became the supreme legislative body of the republic and increased its power at the expense of that of the Sejm. However, it was still largely subordinate to the president and, until the death of coup-instigator Józef Piłsudski , Chief of State. After

279-608: A general session of the National Assembly, this joint session will be chaired by the Marshal of the Sejm or by the Marshal of the Senate. The Senate is allowed 30 days to examine any piece of draft legislation passed by the Sejm, 14 days if a bill is considered to be urgent. Any bill submitted by the Sejm to the Senate may be adopted by the latter without any amendments or amended or rejected (but any rejection or amendment may still be overruled by an absolute majority vote in

372-542: A higher number of 245, and notes that 192 of those were successfully completed, passing legislation. 32 sejms were vetoed with the infamous liberum veto , particularly in the first half of the 18th century. The last two sejms of the Commonwealth were the irregular four-year Great Sejm (1788–92), which passed the Constitution of the 3 May , and the infamous Grodno Sejm (1793) where deputies, bribed or coerced by

465-586: A law passed by the sejm had to be agreed by the three estates of the sejm. There were only few areas in which the king could pass legislation without consulting the sejm: on royal cities , peasants in royal lands , Jews, fiefs and on mining. The three estates of the sejm had the final decision in legislation on taxation , budget and treasury matters (including military funding), foreign policy (including hearing foreign envoys and sending diplomatic missions ) and ennoblement . The sejm received fiscal reports from podskarbi s (treasurers; they were ministers of

558-409: A new Senate building were drawn up. In the meantime the senate's administrative offices and facilities for senators were moved into Bohdan Pniewski's 1950s east wing of the Sejm complex. It eventually became clear that the system of alternating with the Sejm in using the latter's debating chamber was becoming more and more problematic, and so, after another 18 months, during which the Senate made use of

651-457: A part to play in electing, along with the Sejm, the president of the Republic in a unified secret ballot. At the time the Senate was composed of 111 senators, each of whom was elected to represent, along with a number of others, one of Poland's sub-national provinces. The term of office for senators amounted to five years. During the inter-war period the senate met in five convocations. After

744-399: A scheme close to that of Pniewski's, which utilises a great number of soft shades of white and grey, the Senate chamber blends well with the rest of its architectural surroundings. The furniture for the chamber, much of which is upholstered in blueish-grey material was specially designed for the Senate's use and incorporates many design features characteristic of 1950s Polish modernism. Whilst

837-486: A sejm and instead focus on the more regular national gatherings that became known as sejm walny or sejm wielki and date to the 15th century. Whereas Bardach in discussing the beginning of sejm walny points to the national assemblies of the early 15th century, Jędruch prefers, as "a convenient time marker", the sejm of 1493, the first recorded bicameral session of the Polish parliament (although as noted by Sedlar, 1493

930-413: 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. 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. After

1023-466: A senator is four years. The Senate may reject or amend the bills passed by the Sejm but any rejection or amendment may still be overruled by an absolute majority vote in the Sejm. A joint session of the Senate and the Sejm is known as a National Assembly . Traditionally, the Senate takes particular care of Polonia , Polish communities outside Poland . Until 2010, senators were elected by a plurality bloc voting method, where two or more candidates with

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1116-470: A symbol of the modern Polish Senate; indeed the central pylon of this staircase is decorated with a marble plaque depicting the Senate's traditional emblem, the stylised white eagle intertwined with an 'S'. To the right of the hall the Senate Marshal's office is to be found, along with those of his secretariat and chief of staff. A large reception room also adjoins the hall, and it is in this room that

1209-551: A system whereby the Senate would be led by its Marshal and Deputy Marshals who were elected via a simple majority system by senators from among their ranks, they were then expected to serve for the Senate's term of office; the same rules were followed under the April Constitution of 1935. In the Second Polish Republic , senators were elected by universal ballot. In the 1921 constitution the Senate

1302-408: Is simply the first time such a session was clearly recorded in sources, and the first bicameral session might have taken place earlier). Until 1468, sejms gathered only the high ranking nobility and officials, but the sejm of 1468 saw deputies elected from various local territories. Although all nobles were allowed to participate in the general sejm, with the growing importance of local sejmiks in

1395-443: The Constitution of 3 May 1791 , sejms were to be held every two years and last 70 days, with a provision for an extension to 100 days. 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). It is estimated that between 1493 and 1793 sejms were held 240 times. Jędruch gives

1488-579: The Constitutional Tribunal to examine any act of domestic legislation or international agreement to check that it complies with the constitution, ratified international agreements, and other legislation. Since the adoption of the Treaty of Lisbon , the Senate also has the right to report issues about option and implementation of European legislation in Poland to the central authorities of

1581-572: The European Union , Poland's parliament is asymmetric, where the lower chamber is dominant over the upper chamber. Unlike the Sejm, the Senate cannot unilaterally veto legislation nor can it bring down the government in a vote of no confidence, and the chamber and its members generally receive far less attention compared to the Sejm. In line with Article 10, Paragraph 2, and Article 95 of the Polish Constitution of April 2, 1997 ,

1674-553: The European Union . The Senate can be traced back approximately five hundred years to a council of royal advisors. In the Nobles' Democracy , the Senate was a privy council rather than an upper chamber of the Sejm , and consisted of members of the royal cabinet and the royal court, together with burgraves , voivodes , prefects and castellans (all appointed by the king), and Catholic bishops (see Senatorial offices for details). It

1767-816: The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (first hosted in the Old Hrodna Castle , later in the New Hrodna Castle ). In practice, most of the sejms were still held in Warsaw, which hosted 148 sejms, compared to 11 sejms hosted in Grodno. 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. In

1860-796: The Grand Duchy of Lithuania can be found in the Treaty of Salynas of 1398 and the Union of Horodło of 1413. It is considered that the first Seimas of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania met in 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

1953-459: The Grand Duchy of Lithuania . 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. The majority of the sejms were held at the Warsaw's Royal Castle . A few were held elsewhere, particularly in the first years of the Commonwealth, and from 1673, every third sejm was to take place at Grodno in

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2046-536: The Kościuszko Uprising . In 1795 the third partition of Poland took place, thus ending the first chapter of the Senate's history. During the existence of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and the Congress Kingdom of Poland the president of the Senate presided over the Senate; this officer of state was appointed for life by the king, and was chosen from among the ordinary, secular senators. Additionally, in

2139-539: The May 3rd Constitution removed the king from the three estate Sejm and transformed the previously equal House of Envoys and Senate into a modern parliament comprising a lower house (Chamber of Envoys) and upper house (Senate). The Senate, however, lost much of its right to legislate and, whilst still appointed by the king, senators were now to be chosen and put forward by provincial legislative bodies known as Sejmiks . The Senate continued to exist until 1794, right up until

2232-458: The Privilege of Koszyce of 1374). According to some older historians, such as Zygmunt Gloger or Tadeusz Czacki , the first sejm took place in 1180, the date of the gathering of notables ( zjazd , translated as an assembly, congress or synod ) at Łęczyca , shown on a painting of Jan Matejko entitled "The First Sejm". More modern works however do not refer to the Łęczyca gathering as

2325-741: The Russian Empire following the Commonwealth defeat in the War in Defense of the Constitution , annulled the short-lived Constitution and passed the act of Second Partition of Poland . 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. Those were: Confederated sejm ( Sejm skonfederowany ) first appeared in 1573 (all convocation and election sejms were confederated), and became more popular in

2418-646: The Second Polish Republic , the Senate was again abolished by the authorities of the Polish People's Republic . It was not re-established until the collapse of the communist government and reinstatement of democracy in Poland in 1989. The Senate is based in Warsaw and is located in a building which forms part of the Sejm Complex on Wiejska Street, in close proximity to the Three Crosses Square and Ujazdów Castle . Like most parliaments in

2511-583: The Sejm of the Kingdom of Poland and the Seimas of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania . Both countries had centuries-long tradition of public participation in policy making, traced to the Slavic assembly known as the wiec . The sejmik "little sejm" was a regional or local assembly, among whose later tasks were sending delegates and instructions to the "general sejm". Another form of public decision making in Poland

2604-591: The Senate of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . In addition to this, senators from the autonomous Duchy of Prussia , a fiefdom of the Polish king, were incorporated after having been absent since gaining autonomy in 1466. After these developments the Senate was composed of 142 senators: 15 bishops, 35 provincial governors, 31 greater castellans, 47 lesser castellans and 14 ministers. [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] This old senate did not include

2697-459: The Union of Lublin in 1569. 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. The number of sejm deputies and senators grew over time. Sejms have seen mostly majority voting . The General Sejm of the Kingdom of Poland appeared for the first time in the years 1382–1386, when nobility and city representatives began to come to

2790-433: The lower house or chamber of deputies ). These were the so-called three parliamentary states: the king, the senate and the parliamentary chamber. The Sejm was a powerful political institution, and from early 16th century, the Polish king could not pass laws without the approval of that body. The Sejm of Poland and the Seimas of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were merged into the Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by

2883-401: The period of Poland's fragmentation (1146–1295), and continued in the restored Kingdom of Poland. Sejmiks proper date to the late 14th century when they arose from gatherings of nobility, formed for military and consultative purposes. Sejmiks were legally recognized by the 1454 Nieszawa Statutes , in a privilege granted to the szlachta (Polish nobility) by King Casimir IV Jagiellon , when

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2976-420: The president of Poland , over which hangs an embroidered copy of the presidential jack . The hall, which provides entrance to the Senate chamber retains, despite renovation in the early 1990s, its original Pniewski architectural features and now serves as a meetings place for senators and their staff before and between debates. In the centre of this same hall stands an iconic spiral staircase , which has become

3069-437: The 100 seats being contested, with the final seat being taken by an independent. This enormous size of this defeat greatly embarrassed the ruling Polish United Workers' Party and hastened their exit from power, thus paving the way for the establishment of a democratic Poland and the foundation of the third republic, in which the Senate was to become a permanent upper house of the new bicameral legislature. The term of office of

3162-434: The 15th century, it became more common for the sejmiks to elect deputies for the general sejm. In time, this shifted importance, particularly legislative competence, from local sejmiks to the general sejm. The two chambers were: The lower house included the representatives of the major cities: Kraków , Lublin , Lwów , Poznań , Wilno , Gdańsk and Torun . Other towns were also asked to send deputies at times. They had

3255-460: The 17th century, 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. 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

3348-463: The 17th century, and majority voting was preserved only at confederated sejms ( sejm rokoszowy, konny, konfederacyjny ). The liberum veto was finally abolished by the Constitution of 3 May 1791. Reforms of 1764–66 improved the proceedings the sejm. They introduced majority voting for items declared as "non crucial" (most economic and tax matters) and outlawed binding instructions from sejmiks. Reforms of 1767 and 1773–75 transferred some competences of

3441-497: The 17th century.) Next, the kanclerz (chancellor) declared the king's intentions to both chambers, who would then debate separately till the ending ceremonies. After 1543 the resolutions were written in Polish rather than Latin . All legislation adopted by a given sejm formed a whole and was published as a "constitution" of the sejm. Prior to the May 3 Constitution, in Poland the term "constitution" (Polish: konstytucja ) had denoted all

3534-402: The 18th century as a counter to the disruption of liberum veto. Seen as emergency or extraordinary sessions, they relied on majority voting to speed up the discussions and ensure a legislative outcome. Many royal election sejms were confederated, as well as some of the normal sejm walny (general sejm) sessions. Jędruch, who classifies the regular general sejm session as ordinary, in addition to

3627-406: The Commonwealth  [ pl ] ), and debated on most important court cases (the sejm court ), with the right of amnesty . The sejm could also legislate in the absence of the king, although such legislation would have to be accepted by the king ex post . Following the Constitution of 3 May 1791, the senate's competences were altered; in most cases, the senators could only vote together with

3720-552: The Congress Kingdom the Senate was on an equal footing with the Chamber of Envoys, it was then composed of bishops, provincial governors, castellans and princes of the imperial blood . Despite this, the Senate of the Congress Kingdom had very little power and was largely a powerless, representative institution. In the newly re-established Poland after the First World War, the March Constitution of 1921 set out

3813-427: The Grand Duke to pass certain laws. Sejms, including their senate (the upper chamber), and sejmiks severely limited the king's powers. Already the Sejm of the Kingdom of Poland has a great impact on the king's powers. From 1505 the king could not pass laws himself without the approval of the sejm, this being forbidden by Polish szlachta privilege laws like nihil novi . According to the nihil novi constitution,

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3906-503: The Hall of Columns in the Sejm, work on the new Senate chamber finally began. The project revolved around a plan designed by architects Andrzej and Barbara Kaliszewski and Bohdan Napieralski, which would see three conference rooms on the first floor of what is now the Senate building combined to make one usable space, whilst not changing the external elevations of the building or significantly changing its interior style or character. Decorated in

3999-475: The King agreed to consult certain decisions with the nobility. Such local gatherings were preferred by the kings, as national assemblies would try to claim more power than the regional ones. Nonetheless, with time the power of such assemblies grew, entrenched with milestone privileges obtained by the szlachta particularly during periods of transition from one dynasty or royal succession system to another (such as

4092-535: The Kingdom of Poland The General Sejm ( Polish : Sejm walny , also translated as the General Parliament) was the parliament of the Kingdom of Poland . It had evolved from the earlier institution of Curia Regis (King's Council) and was one of the primary elements of democratic governance in the Polish dominion. Initially established in 1386, it officially functioned as a bicameral diet since

4185-462: The Sejm). Any resolution of the Senate, as a result of which a bill is repealed or amended, is considered to be passed provided it has not been rejected by the Sejm. However, for the state budget, the Senate has 20 days to examine it. For amending the constitution, the Senate has 60 days for analysis. If the constitution is amended, identical wording of the amendment must be approved by both the Sejm and

4278-837: The Sejm, the Senate has no role in providing for oversight of the executive. The Senate currently appoints one member of the National Broadcasting Council, two members of the Council of the Institute of National Remembrance, two of its own senators to sit on the National Judiciary Board and three members of the Monetary Policy Council of the National Bank . The Marshal of the Senate and any 30 senators may also request

4371-544: The Senate and the Sejm exercise legislative power. The Senate is composed of 100 senators who are elected for a term of four years in general election in a direct vote by secret ballot. Alongside the Sejm, the President of the Polish Republic, the Council of Ministers and all citizens of Poland, the Senate has the right to take legislative initiatives. If it is necessary for the Sejm and Senate to convene jointly as

4464-410: The Senate chamber does have one elevation incorporating large windows, which look out into the Sejm gardens, the specially-designed curtain, which was designed to cover them must always be drawn during debates and it is, in fact, rare to ever see it open. The necessity to close the curtains during debates exists to stop the sun's glare from distracting or disturbing senators during plenary sessions. Behind

4557-505: The Senate during periods of the king's absence. The primate even had the right to convene 'secret' councils with the Senate without the king's permission and, should the need arise, even against his will. During periods of interregnum the primate immediately became, by default, the interrex (acting monarch), and thus could convene the Sejm at will. In 1573 the Senate received new rights under the Henrician Articles; these allowed

4650-402: The Senate grew in importance and kings began to rule with the help of an advisory body in which they placed most of their trust. This body was colloquially known as the 'Little Senate' and was made up of a number of highly trusted senators loyal to the king. In 1631 and 1632 the Senate first used its right to veto constitutional acts adopted by the Chamber of Envoys. This marks the first phase of

4743-847: The Senate is required to grant its consent in the case of appointment or removal of the President of the Supreme Chamber of Control, the President of the Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation , the Commissioner for Protection of Citizens' Rights and the Ombudsman for Children and the General Inspector for Personal Data Protection. However, unlike

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4836-406: The Senate to reprimand the king and instructed that the monarch must always be accompanied by an advisory body of at least four senators. The Senate also ruled that the king must not arbitrarily propagate new laws and that he must first consult with the Senate before entering into marriage or agreeing to inter-state alliances. Under King Sigismund III of Poland and later his son, King Władysław IV ,

4929-481: The Senate was abolished in the post- Second World War People's Republic of Poland . It is estimated, based on actual results obtained after the fall of Communism in 1989, that should the referendum have been fairly organised, the real outcome would have shown that 73% of respondents were in favour of retaining the Senate in the legislative system and the institution would not have been abolished. Indeed, in Kraków , where

5022-407: The Senate's demise as powerful nobles (known as the magnates) begin to exercise their power in the legislature. By 1669 the situation had become so bad that landowners took to the streets and, angered by the magnates machinations during the earlier royal election of Michael I , shot at passing senators. By 1717 the king was obliged to implement recommendations given by the senators-resident and by 1773

5115-474: The Senate. The president cannot decide to stage a nationwide referendum on matters of national importance unless he or she has been given explicit permission to do so by the Senate. The Senate is also empowered to examine any reports submitted by the Commissioner for the Protection of Citizens' Rights and the National Broadcasting Council. Other than its significant involvement in the legislative process,

5208-456: 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

5301-440: The cardinal laws pertaining to the 'power of legislating for the Republic in three estates' had been passed and the Senate had begun to hold joint debates with the Chamber of Envoys as a single 'united' Sejm. As a result, in 1775, the senators-resident or 'Little Senate' were abolished and were replaced with a ' Permanent Council ' of senators and envoys headed by the king. In 1791 a particularly important development took place when

5394-516: The convocation, election and coronation sessions, also distinguished the following additional types: Senate of Poland#Kingdom and Commonwealth Confidence and supply (3) Opposition (34) The Senate ( Polish : Senat ) is the upper house of the Polish parliament , the lower house being the Sejm . The history of the Polish Senate stretches back over 500 years; it

5487-425: The court's crown marshal. Both of these two marshals sat in the Senate and, like other senators, enjoyed a lifelong appointment by the king. The most important senator or 'president of the senate' was, at the time, the archbishop of Gniezno who, as Primate of Poland and 'first Duke of the Kingdom', was considered to hold the most senior state position below that of the monarch. The archbishop presided over sessions of

5580-580: The deputies were elected for two years, and did not require reelection in that period if any extraordinary sejms were to be called. Senators, for the most part, were selected by the king from a number of candidates presented by the sejmiks. Due to population size differences between Lithuania and Poland, the Grand Duchy had three times less representatives than the Crown. Usually larger voivodeships could send 6 deputies, smaller 2; ziemias , depending on their sizes, would send 2 or 1. Numbers of deputies elected to

5673-463: The executive government, over which he also presided (the newly created Straż Praw or the Guardianship of Laws). The sejm also had the supervisory role, as government ministers and other officials were to be responsible to it. Until the end of the 16th century, unanimity was not required and majority voting predominated. Later, with the rise of the magnates ' power, the unanimity principle

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5766-458: The formation of the Senate in 1493. The Sejm was composed of members of the royal council or king's court (the royal court , who played the largest role), provincial crown offices such as castellans , voivodes and higher nobility or magnates (the aristocratic element represented by the senate , upper house ), members of the nobility who did not hold any crown offices and city council representatives (the democratic element represented by

5859-697: The governing of the state to them. However, whilst Alexander first agreed, after his coronation he refused to affirm this privilege. Later the Nihil Novi act of 1505 affirmed the right of both the Chamber of Envoys and Senate to propagate common law for the kingdom. In 1529 the Senate finally reached a decision on its own composition; after the accession of Mazovia to the Kingdom of Poland, the Senate became composed of Roman Catholic diocesan bishops, voivodes, lesser and greater castellans, ministers (grand chamberlain, chancellor, deputy chancellors, grand treasurer and court Marshal), all of whom were appointed for life by

5952-404: The highest support are elected from each electorate , and each voter selects as many candidates as there are seats (i.e., there is no proportional representation). The exact number of senators from each electorate was dependent on its population and varied from two to four. Since 2011, senators are elected by the single member, one-round first-past-the-post voting method. The Senate building

6045-453: The history of the Sejm of Poland, Bardach points to the national assemblies of the early 15th century, Jędruch prefers, as "a convenient time marker", the sejm of 1493, the first recorded bicameral session of the Polish parliament. 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. The first traces of large nobility meetings in

6138-462: The invasion of Poland by German forces, on 2 November 1939, the president of Poland Ignacy Mościcki ordered that the Senate and Sejm cease to operate and remain in recess until the end of the war, after which elections were ordered to take place within 60 days after the cessation of hostilities; this however, was never to take place. After a referendum organised in 1946 by the Communist regime,

6231-517: The king. At this time the competences of the Senate were also laid down as pertaining to participation in legislation, foreign policy and the Sejm Court. In 1537 the Senate followed a course of action which would have seen it become the most important institution in protecting landowners’ rights and freedoms. However, this view was at odds with those of Sigismund I the Old who believed that the Senate

6324-559: The large oil painting “the Polish Legation and Walezjusz” by Teodor Axentowicz hangs. To the left of the hall is a small foyer for the use of senators and in which hang portraits of all the past marshals of the senate. The lower floors of the Senate house the administrative offices of the 'Senate Chancellery' whilst others are used by various legislative experts. 52°13′32″N 21°01′48″E  /  52.2256°N 21.0300°E  / 52.2256; 21.0300 Sejm of

6417-436: 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. The new Senate Chamber was the larger of the two, as it was intended to host both chambers during the opening and closing ceremonies. In the mid-15th century the general sejm of the Kingdom of Poland met about once per year. There was no set time span to elapse before

6510-407: The legislation, of whatever character, that had been passed at a sejm. Only with the adoption of the May 3 Constitution did konstytucja assume its modern sense of a fundamental document of governance. From the end of the 16th century, the constitutions were printed, stamped with the royal seal , and sent to the chancelleries of the municipal councils of all voivodeships of the Crown and also to

6603-469: The nationwide official congresses. Public participation in policy making in Poland can be traced to the Slavic assembly known as the wiec . Another form of public decision making was that of royal election , which occurred when there was no clear heir to the throne, or the heir's appointment had to be confirmed. On February 2, 1386, at one of the first general parliamentary sessions in Lublin , Jagiełło

6696-502: The next session was to be called by the king. If the general sejm did not happen, local sejmiks would debate on current issues instead. 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. Extraordinary sejms could be called in times of national emergency, for example

6789-481: The opposition managed to ensure a fair vote, the 'no' result relating to the question as to whether people favoured the abolition of the Senate was recorded as being 84%. The Senate was only reestablished after the agreement struck between the Communists and Solidarity in 1989. During the first election to the newly reestablished senate in 1989 the future-president Lech Wałęsa 's Solidarity Movement won 99 of

6882-418: The presidium, the back of which faces the glazed elevation, hangs a large copy of the coat of arms of Poland . On either side of the presidium there are places available for government advisors and independent experts who may be required to take part in debates, whilst at the back, around the edge of the chamber there are a small number of places reserved for the public. There is also a special space reserved for

6975-418: The process of the royal election in the interregnum period. In total, 173 sejms met between 1569 and 1793. The Polish word sejm is derived from old Czech sejmovat , which means to bring together or to summon . In English, the terms general, full, or ordinary sejm are used for the sejm walny . The Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was established by the Union of Lublin in 1569 and merged

7068-559: The same voting and debating rights as others however in practice their participation was limited and often they employed nobles to represent their interests. Until the Union of Lublin (1569), sejms were held in Piotrków Trybunalski Castle , located in Piotrków , a town chosen for its proximity to the two major provinces of Poland, Greater Poland and Lesser Poland . From 1493, other locations would also host

7161-526: The sejm by sejmiks from particular localities, in the order of precedence , based on a 1569 decree, were as follows: A sejm began with a solemn mass , a verification of deputies mandates, and election of the Marshal of the Sejm (also known as the Speaker). (The position of the Marshal of the Sejm (and sejmik) who presided over the proceedings and was elected from the body of deputies evolved in

7254-555: The sejm to the commissions of elected delegates. From 1768, hetmans were included among the senate members, and from 1775 also the Court Deputy Treasurer. 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. The Constitution of 3 May 1791 finally abolished the liberum veto , replacing it by majority voting, in most important matters requiring 75% of

7347-412: The sejm, and the senate's veto powers were limited. 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

7440-474: 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 Warsaw emerging as the primary location. The number of sejm deputies and senators grew over time, from about 70 senators and 50 deputies in the 15th century to about 150 senators and 200 deputies in the 18th century. Early sejms have seen mostly majority voting , but beginning in

7533-436: The sejms, most prominently Kraków , where 29 sessions were held. Other locations included Brest (1653), Bydgoszcz (1520), Jędrzejów (1576), Kamień (1573), Koło (1577), Korczyn (1511), Lublin (1506, 1554, 1566, 1569), Poznań (1513), Sandomierz (1500, 1519), Toruń (1519, 1577), and Warsaw (1556, 1563, and numerous times after 1568). In the mid-15th century the general sejm met about once per year. There

7626-453: The separate post of the Senate Marshal. The Senate's sessions were presided over by the king, who was represented in person by the 'grand royal marshal', a figure who could ultimately be described as prime minister of the kingdom. It was this marshal who, on behalf of the king, presided over joint sessions (in which both the Senate and Chamber of Envoys took part) of the Sejm. Should the grand royal marshal by absent, sessions were presided over by

7719-477: The votes. 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. The deputies had no set term of office , although in practice it

7812-399: 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). Deputies had parliamentary immunity and any crimes against them were classified as lèse-majesté . The two chambers were: The Constitution of May 3 specified that

7905-475: Was becoming far too powerful. Resultantly, over the period of 1562–69, the Senate lost many of its powers and influence, eventually becoming subordinate to its formerly-equal companion body, the Chamber of Envoys. In 1569 a very important milestone was achieved when the Union of Lublin was signed and senators of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were incorporated into the Royal Senate of Poland in order to form

7998-587: Was elected the king of Poland. There are legends of a 9th-century election of the legendary founder of the Piast dynasty , Piast the Wheelwright , and a similar election of his son, Siemowit (this would place a Polish ruler's election a century before an Icelandic one's by the Althing ), but sources for that time come from the later centuries and their validity is disputed by scholars. The election privilege

8091-550: Was enforced with the szlachta privilege of liberum veto (from the Latin: "I freely forbid"). 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. 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. The pro-majority-voting party almost disappeared in

8184-435: Was established as the upper house of the Polish parliament, which from then on was to be known as the 'National Assembly', with the previously overarching term 'Sejm' being used to refer only to the lower house of parliament. The senate, whilst not having the right to introduce legislation, was entrusted with the right of veto over the Sejm, the right to demand written explanations of policy decisions from government ministers and

8277-464: Was not until 1453 that the first mention was made of a two chamber legislative body in which the 'lords' of the kingdom were represented in a 'council of lords', however, by 1493 the Sejm, made up of the king, Senate and Chamber of Envoys was finally established as a permanent legislative body for the Polish kingdom. In 1501 at Mielnik , senators attempted to force the soon to be crowned king Alexander I Jagiellon to devolve all royal powers relating to

8370-477: Was one of the first constituent bodies of a bicameral parliament in Europe and existed without hiatus until the final partition of the Polish state in 1795. The contemporary Senate is composed of 100 senators elected by a universal ballot and is headed by the Marshal of the Senate ( Marszałek Senatu ). The incumbent Marshal of the Senate is Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska . Following a brief period of existence under

8463-490: Was originally an administrative building of the Polish Sejm that was built in the early 1950s and eventually became the Sejm library. However, in 1989, with the re-establishment of the Senate, the need for a permanent workplace for the new institution became obvious. At the time only the Sejm's chamber was big enough to hold Senate debates, so, as a compromise the Senate made temporary use of the Sejm chamber whilst plans for

8556-408: Was that of royal election , which occurred when there was no clear heir to the throne, or the heir's appointment had to be confirmed. With time the power of such assemblies grew, entrenched with milestone privileges obtained by the nobility ( szlachta ) particularly during periods of transition from one dynasty or royal succession system to another (such as the Privilege of Koszyce of 1374). Tracing

8649-441: Was usually limited to the most powerful nobles ( magnates ) or officials, and was heavily influenced by local traditions and strength of the ruler. By the 12th or 13th century, the wiec institution likewise limited its participation to high ranking nobles and officials. The nationwide gatherings of wiec officials in 1306 and 1310 can be seen as precursors of the general sejm. The traditions of local wiec's or sejmiks survived

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