Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej
Type
Type Lower house
Leadership
Marshal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland Bronisław Komorowski
Structure
Members 460 deputies
Political groups PO (209)
PiS (166)
LiD (53)
PSL (31)
MN (1)
Meeting place
The Sejm Building Warsaw
Website
http://www.sejm.gov.pl
The Sejm [sɛjm] (
listen) is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish. It is elected by universal ballot and is headed by the Marshal of the Sejm (Marszałek Sejmu).
Before the 20th century, the term "Sejm" referred to the entire three-chamber Polish parliament, comprising the lower house (Chamber of Envoys; Polish: Izba Poselska), the upper house (Senate; Polish: Senat) and the King. It was commonly termed a three-estate parliament. Since the Second Polish Republic (1918-1939), the term "Sejm" has referred only to the lower house of the parliament; the upper house is called the "Senat".
History
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Sejm of the Kingdom of Poland and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Word "sejm" stems from Old Slavic word meaning "gathering". The power of early, various wiece ("councils") grew stronger during the time of Poland's fragmentation (1146-1295), but it was only in the late 15th century that the Sejm became established as a regularly convening body. From 1493 forward, the indirect elections were repeated every two years. With the development of the unique, Polish "Golden Liberty" system, the Sejm's powers increased.
The first Sejm was composed of two chambers:
- The Senat ("Senate") of 81 bishops and other dignitaries
- The Chamber of (54) Envoys sent by the landed nobility of the Commonwealth's various lands, and elected by the local assemblies of landed nobility.
The number of envoys in the lower chamber grew in number — and power — as they pressured the king for more privileges. The spur toward action increased when landed nobility was drafted into military service. After 1569's Union of Lublin, the Kingdom of Poland was transformed into the federation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the number of the Sejm's members was increased by including envoys from the Lithuanian nobility.
The Sejm severely limited the king's powers. Its chambers reserved the final decisions in legislation, taxation, budget, and treasury matters (including military funding), foreign affairs, and titles of nobility. In 1573, in the act of the Warsaw Confederation, the nobles of the Sejm officially sanctioned, and guaranteed to each other, religious tolerance in Commonwealth territory, ensuring an eastern-European refuge from the ongoing Reformation and Counter-Reformation wars.
Until the end of the 16th century, unanimity was not required, and the majority-voting process was the most commonly used electoral form. Later, with the rise of power held by Polish magnates, the unanimity principle was reinforced with the institution of the nobility's right of liberum veto (Latin for "I freely forbid"). If the envoys were unable to reach a unanimous decision within six weeks (the time limit of a single session), deliberations were declared null and void. From the mid-17th century onward, any objection to a Sejm resolution — by either an envoy or a senator — automatically caused the rejection of other, previously approved resolutions. This was because all resolutions passed by a given session of the Sejm formed a whole resolution, and, as such, was published as the annual constitution of the Sejm, e.g., Anno Domini 1667. In the 16th century, no single person or small group dared to hold up proceedings, but, from the second half of the 17th century, the liberum veto was used to virtually paralyze the Sejm, and brought the Commonwealth to the brink of collapse. The liberum veto was finally abolished by the May Constitution of Poland in 1791.
It is estimated that, between 1493 and 1793, sejms were held 240 times, with a debate-time sum of 44 years.
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Sejm of the Congress Poland
Parliament of the Kongresówka , or Congress Poland, was composed of the king, the upper house (Senate), and the lower house (Chamber of Envoys).
The Chamber of Envoys, despite its name, consisted not only of 77 envoys (sent by local assembly) from the hereditary nobility, but also of 51 deputies, elected by the non-noble population. A deputy's term of office was six years; half of the deputies were elected every two years, and all were covered by Parliamentary immunity. Candidates for deputy had to be able to read and write, and have a certain amount of wealth. The legal voting age was 21, but military personnel were not allowed to vote.
Parliamentiary sessions were initially convened every two years, and lasted for (at least) 30 days. However, after many clashes between liberal deputies and conservative government officials, sessions were later called only four times (1818, 1820, 1826, and 1830, with the last two sessions being secret).
The Sejm had the right to call for votes on civil and administrative legal issues. With permission from the king, it could also vote on matters related to the fiscal system and the military. It had the right to control government officials, and to file petitions.
The 64-member Senate was composed of voivodes and kasztelans (both types of provincial governors), Russian "princes of the blood," and nine bishops. It acted as the Parliament Court, had the right to control citizens' books, and had similar legislative rights as did the Chamber of Deputies.