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Sejm of 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.

For other uses, see Sejm of the Kingdom of Poland (disambiguation).

Sejm of the Kingdom of Poland

Sejm Królestwa Polskiego

Bicameral (since 1493)

Senate
Chamber of Deputies

1386 (1493)

1569

Curia Regis (wiec)

Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

Stanisław Sędziwój Czarnkowski
since 1569

Initially established in 1386, it officially functioned as a bicameral diet since 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 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 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.

A (senat) of high ecclesiastical and secular officials, forming the royal council. In the mid-15th century they numbered 73.[8] That number grew with time, with 81 senators around 1493–1504, and 95 around 1553–65.[25]

senate

A lower house, the sejm proper, of lower ranking officials and general nobility. That number also grew with time, at first below that of the senators, with 53 deputies around 1493–1504, and 92 around 1553–65.[25]

[8]

Until 1468, sejms gathered only the high ranking nobility and officials, but the sejm of 1468 saw deputies elected from various local territories.[23] Although all nobles were allowed to participate in the general sejm, with the growing importance of local sejmiks in the 15th century, it became more common for the sejmiks to elect deputies for the general sejm.[8] In time, this shifted importance, particularly legislative competence, from local sejmiks to the general sejm.[24]


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 the same voting and debating rights as others however in practice their participation was limited and often they employed nobles to represent their interests.[26]

Location[edit]

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.[8][23][27] From 1493, other locations would also host the sejms, most prominently Kraków, where 29 sessions were held.[27][28] 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).[28]

Duration and frequency[edit]

In the mid-15th century the general sejm met about once per year.[8] There was no set time span to elapse before the next session was to be called by the king.[22] If the general sejm did not happen, local sejmiks would debate on current issues instead.[8]