Editing Sejm (section)

== History ==
=== Kingdom of Poland ===
{{Main|Sejm of the Kingdom of Poland}} 
[[File:The_First_Sejm_1182.jpg|thumb|left|The first Sejm in Łęczyca. Recording of laws. A.D. 1180]]

''Sejm'' (an ancient [[Lechitic languages|Proto-Lechitic]] word meaning "gathering" or "meeting") traces its roots to the King's Councils – ''[[wiec]]e'' – which gained authority during the time of [[Testament of Bolesław III Wrymouth|Poland's fragmentation]] (1146-1295). The 1180 Sejm in [[Łęczyca]] (known as the 'First Polish parliament') was the most notable, in that it established laws constraining the power of the ruler. It forbade arbitrary sequestration of supplies in the countryside and takeover of bishopric lands after the death of a bishop. These early ''Sejm''s only convened at the King's behest.

Following the 1493 ''Sejm'' in [[Piotrków Trybunalski|Piotrków]], it became a regularly convening body, to which indirect elections were held every two years. The [[bicameral system]] was also established; the ''Sejm'' then comprised two chambers: the ''Senat'' (Senate) of 81 bishops and [[Offices in Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth#Senatorial offices|other dignitaries]]; and the Chamber of Deputies, made up of 54 envoys elected by smaller local ''sejmik'' ([[Sejmik|assemblies of landed nobility]]) in each of the Kingdom's provinces. At the time, Poland's nobility, which accounted for around 10% of the state's population (then the highest amount in Europe), was becoming particularly influential, and with the eventual development of the [[Golden Liberty]], the ''Sejm'''s powers increased dramatically.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web |url=http://opis.sejm.gov.pl/en/historiasejmu.php |title=Poznaj Sejm |website=opis.sejm.gov.pl |access-date=16 June 2013 |archive-date=15 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191015145404/http://opis.sejm.gov.pl/en/historiasejmu.php |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth===
{{Main|Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth}}
[[File:Kazimierz Wojniakowski, Uchwalenie Konstytucji 3 Maja.jpg|thumb|left|In 1791, the "[[Great Sejm|Great ''Sejm'']]" or [[Four-Year Sejm|Four-Year ''Sejm'']] of 1788–1792 and Senate adopted the [[May 3rd Constitution]] at the [[Royal Castle, Warsaw|Royal Castle in Warsaw]]]] Over time, the envoys in the [[lower chamber]] grew in number and power as they pressed the king for more privileges. The ''Sejm'' eventually became even more active in supporting the goals of the privileged classes when the King ordered that the landed nobility and their estates (peasants) be drafted into [[Pospolite ruszenie|military service]]. 
{{Politics of Poland}}
The [[Union of Lublin]] in 1569, united the [[Kingdom of Poland (1385-1569)|Kingdom of Poland]] and the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] as one single state, the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]], and thus the ''Sejm'' was supplemented with new envoys from among the [[Lithuanian nobility]]. The Commonwealth ensured that the state of affairs surrounding the three-estates system continued, with the ''Sejm'', Senate and King forming the estates and supreme deliberating body of the state. In the first few decades of the 16th century, the Senate had established its precedence over the ''Sejm''; however, from the mid-1500s onwards, the ''Sejm'' became a very powerful representative body of the ''[[szlachta]]'' ("middle nobility"). Its chambers reserved the final decisions in legislation, taxation, [[budget]], and [[treasury]] matters (including military funding), [[foreign policy]], and the [[Ennoblement|confirment of nobility]].

The 1573 [[Warsaw Confederation]] saw the nobles of the ''Sejm'' officially sanction and guarantee [[religious tolerance]] in Commonwealth territory, ensuring a refuge for those fleeing the ongoing [[Protestant reformation|Reformation]] and [[Counter-Reformation]] wars in Europe.

Until the end of the 16th century, [[unanimity]] was not required, and the [[majority voting|majority-voting]] process was the most commonly used system for voting. Later, with the rise of the [[Polish magnate]]s and their increasing power, the unanimity principle was re-introduced with the institution of the nobility's right of ''[[liberum veto]]'' ([[Latin]]: "free [[veto]]"). Additionally, if the envoys were unable to reach a unanimous decision within six weeks (the time limit of a single session), deliberations were declared void and all previous acts passed by that ''Sejm'' were annulled. 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 "constituent act" of the ''Sejm'', e.g. the "''[[Anno Domini]]'' 1667" act. 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 abolished with the adoption of the [[Constitution of 3 May 1791]], a piece of legislation which was passed as the "Government Act", and for which the ''Sejm'' required [[Great Sejm|four years to propagate and adopt]]. The constitution's acceptance, and the possible long-term consequences it may have had, is arguably the reason that the powers of [[Habsburg monarchy|Habsburg Austria]], [[Russian Empire|Russia]] and [[Prussia]] then decided to [[Partitions of Poland|partition the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]], thus putting an end to over 300 years of Polish parliamentary continuity. It is estimated that between 1493 and 1793, a ''Sejm'' was held 240 times, the total debate-time sum of which was 44 years.<ref name=autogenerated1/>

===Partitions===
After the fall of the [[Duchy of Warsaw]], which existed as a [[Napoleon]]ic [[client state]] between 1807 and 1815, and its short-lived [[Sejm of the Duchy of Warsaw|''Sejm'' of the Duchy of Warsaw]], the [[Sejm of Congress Poland|''Sejm'' of Congress Poland]] was established in [[Congress Poland]] of the Russian Empire; it was composed of the king (the Russian emperor), the upper house (Senate), and the lower house (Chamber of Deputies). Overall, during the period from 1795 until the re-establishment of Poland's sovereignty in 1918, little power was actually held by any Polish legislative body and the occupying powers of Russia, Prussia (later united [[German Empire|Germany]]) and Austria propagated legislation for their own respective formerly-Polish territories at a national level.<ref name="autogenerated1" /><gallery widths="240" heights="119">
File:Jan_Matejko_-_Upadek_Polski_(Reytan).jpg|[[Tadeusz Rejtan]] tries to prevent the legalisation of the [[Partitions of Poland|first partition of Poland]] by preventing the members of the ''Sejm'' from leaving the chamber (1773). [[Rejtan (painting)|Painting]] by [[Jan Matejko]]
</gallery>

====Congress Poland====
{{Main|Sejm of Congress Poland}}
The Chamber of Deputies, despite its name, consisted not only of 77 envoys (sent by local assemblies) from the hereditary nobility, but also of 51 [[Chamber of Deputies|deputies]], elected by the non-noble population. All deputies were covered by [[Parliamentary immunity]], with each individual serving for a term of office of six years, with third of the deputies being elected every two years. Candidates for deputy had to be able to [[Literacy|read and write]], and have a certain amount of wealth. The legal voting age was 21, except for those citizens serving in the military, the personnel of which were not allowed to vote. Parliamentary 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 [[Common law|civil]] and [[Administrative law|administrative]] legal issues, and, with permission from the king, it could also vote on matters related to the [[fiscal policy]] and the military. It had the right to exercise control over government officials, and to file [[petition]]s. The 64-member Senate on the other hand, was composed of ''[[voivode]]s'' and ''[[Castellan|kasztelan]]s'' (both types of provincial governors), Russian envoys, diplomats or princes, and nine bishops. It acted as the Parliamentary Court, had the right to control "citizens' books", and had similar [[Legislature|legislative]] rights as did the Chamber of Deputies.<ref name="autogenerated1" />

====Germany and Austria-Hungary====
In the [[Free City of Cracow]] (1815–1846), a unicameral Assembly of Representatives was established, and from 1827, a unicameral [[Sejm of the Grand Duchy of Posen|provincial ''sejm'']] existed in the [[Grand Duchy of Poznań]]. Poles were elected to and represented the majority in both of these legislatures; however, they were largely powerless institutions and exercised only very limited power. After numerous failures in securing legislative sovereignty in the early 19th century, many Poles simply gave up trying to attain a degree of independence from their foreign master-states. In the [[Austrian partition]], a relatively powerless [[Sejm of the Estates|''Sejm'' of the Estates]] operated until the time of the [[Revolutions of 1848|Spring of Nations]]. After this, in the mid to late 19th century, only in autonomous [[Galicia (Eastern Europe)|Galicia]] (1861–1914) was there a unicameral and functional National ''Sejm'', the [[Sejm of the Land|''Sejm'' of the Land]]. It is recognised today as having played a major and overwhelming positive role in the development of Polish national institutions.

In the second half of the 19th century, Poles were able to become members of the parliaments of Austria, Prussia and Russia, where they formed Polish Clubs. Deputies of Polish nationality were elected to the Prussian ''Landtag'' from 1848, and then to the German Empire's ''[[Reichstag (German Empire)|Reichstag]]'' from 1871. Polish Deputies were members of the Austrian State Council (from 1867), and from 1906 were also elected to the Russian Imperial State ''Duma'' (lower chamber) and to the State Council (upper chamber).<ref name=autogenerated1 />

===Second Polish Republic===
After the [[First World War]] and re-establishment of Polish independence, the convocation of parliament, under the democratic electoral law of 1918, became an enduring symbol of the new state's wish to demonstrate and establish continuity with the 300-year Polish parliamentary traditions established before the time of the partitions. Maciej Rataj emphatically paid tribute to this with the phrase: "There is Poland there, and so is the ''Sejm''".

During the [[interwar period]] of Poland's independence, the first [[1919 Polish legislative election|Legislative ''Sejm'' of 1919]], a Constituent Assembly, passed the [[Small Constitution of 1919]], which introduced a [[parliamentary republic]] and proclaimed the principle of the ''Sejm'''s [[sovereignty]]. This was then strengthened, in 1921, by the [[March Constitution of Poland|March Constitution]], one of the most democratic European constitutions enacted after the end of World War I. The constitution established a political system which was based on [[Montesquieu]]'s doctrine of separation of powers, and which restored the bicameral ''Sejm'' consisting of a chamber of deputies (to which alone the name of "''Sejm''" was from then on applied) and the Senate. In 1919, [[Roza Pomerantz-Meltzer]], a member of the [[Zionism|Zionist]] party, became the first woman ever elected to the ''Sejm''.<ref>{{cite book |title=God's Playground: A History of Poland |last=Davies |first=Norman |year=1982 |publisher=Columbia University Press |page=302}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Hostages of Modernization: Studies on Modern Antisemitism, 1870-1933/39 |last=Strauss |first=Herbert Arthur |year=1993 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |page=985}}</ref>

The legal content of the March Constitution allowed for ''Sejm'' supremacy in the system of state institutions at the expense of the executive powers, thus creating a parliamentary republic out of the Polish state. An attempt to strengthen executive powers in 1926 (through the August Amendment) proved too limited and largely failed in helping avoid legislative grid-lock which had ensued as a result of too-great parliamentary power in a state which had numerous diametrically-opposed political parties sitting in its legislature. In 1935, the parliamentary republic was weakened further when, by way of, [[Józef Piłsudski]]'s [[May Coup (Poland)|May Coup]], the president was forced to sign the [[Polish Constitution of 1935|April Constitution of 1935]], an act through which the head of state assumed the dominant position in legislating for the state and the Senate increased its power at the expense of the ''Sejm''.

On 2 September 1939, the ''Sejm'' held its final pre-war session, during which it declared Poland's readiness to defend itself against invading German forces. On 2 November 1939, the President dissolved the ''Sejm'' and the Senate, which were then, according to plan, to resume their activity within two months after the end of the Second World War; this, however, never happened. During wartime, the National Council (1939–1945) was established to represent the legislature as part of the [[Polish Government in Exile]]. Meanwhile, in [[Nazi-occupied Poland]], the Council of National Unity was set up; this body functioned from 1944 to 1945 as the parliament of the [[Polish Underground State]]. With the cessation of hostilities in 1945, and subsequent rise to power of the Communist-backed [[Provisional Government of National Unity]], the [[Second Polish Republic]] legally ceased to exist.<ref name=autogenerated1 /><gallery widths="220" heights="169">
File:Dubois w Sejmie. 1-A-849-4.jpg|[[Stanisław Dubois]] speaking to envoys and diplomats in the ''Sejm'', 1931
File:Beck przemówienie.jpg|[[Józef Beck]], Minister of Foreign Affairs, delivers his famous Honour Speech in the ''Sejm'', 5 May 1939.
</gallery>

===Polish People's Republic===
The ''Sejm'' in the [[Polish People's Republic]] had 460 deputies throughout most of its history. At first, this number was declared to represent one deputy per 60,000 citizens (425 were elected in 1952), but, in 1960, as the population grew, the declaration was changed: The constitution then stated that the deputies were representative ''of'' the people and could be recalled ''by'' the people, but this article was never used, and, instead of the "[[five-point electoral law]]", a non-proportional, "four-point" version was used. Legislation was passed with majority voting.

Under the [[Constitution of the Polish People's Republic|1952 Constitution]], the Sejm was defined as "the highest organ of State authority" in Poland, as well as "the highest spokesman of the will of the people in town and country." On paper, it was vested with great lawmaking and oversight powers. For instance, it was empowered with control over "the functioning of other organs of State authority and administration," and ministers were required to answer questions posed by deputies within seven days.<ref name=PolandConstitutionChapter3>[http://libr.sejm.gov.pl/tek01/txt/kpol/e1952a-r3.html Chapter 3] of 1952 Constitution</ref> In practice, it did little more than rubber-stamp decisions already made by the Communist [[Polish United Workers Party]] and its executive bodies.<ref name=cs>[http://countrystudies.us/poland/80.htm Poland: a country study]. [[Library of Congress]] Federal Research Division, December 1989.</ref> This was standard practice in nearly all Communist regimes due to the principle of [[democratic centralism]].

The ''Sejm'' voted on the budget and on the periodic [[Planned economy|national plans]] that were a fixture of communist economies. The ''Sejm'' deliberated in sessions that were ordered to convene by the [[State Council of Poland|State Council]].

The ''Sejm'' also chose a ''[[Presidium|Prezydium]]'' ("presiding body") from among its members. The ''Prezydium'' was headed by the speaker, or [[Marshal of the Sejm|Marshal]], who was always a member of the [[United People's Party (Poland)|United People's Party]]. In its preliminary session, the ''Sejm'' also nominated the [[Prime Minister of Poland|Prime Minister]], the [[Council of Ministers of Poland]], and members of the State Council. It also chose many other government officials, including the head of the [[Supreme Audit Office (Poland)|Supreme Chamber of Control]] and members of the [[State Tribunal of Poland|State Tribunal]] and the [[Constitutional Tribunal of Poland|Constitutional Tribunal]], as well as the [[Polish Ombudsman|Ombudsman]] (the last three bodies of which were created in the 1980s).

When the Sejm was not in session, the State Council had the power to issue decrees that had the force of law. However, those decrees had to be approved by the Sejm at its next session.<ref name=PolandConstitutionChapter3/> In practice, the principles of democratic centralism meant that such approval was only a formality.

The [[Senate of Poland|Senate]] was abolished by the [[1946 Polish people's referendum|referendum]] in 1946, after which the ''Sejm'' became the sole legislative body in Poland.<ref name=autogenerated1 /> Even though the ''Sejm'' was largely subservient to the Communist party, one deputy, Romuald Bukowski (an independent) voted against the imposition of martial law in 1982.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/10/22/obituaries/romuald-bukowski-polish-legislator-64.html|title=Romuald Bukowski; Polish Legislator, 64|author=The Associated Press|date=22 October 1992|work=The New York Times|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

===Third Polish Republic===
After the [[Revolutions of 1989|end of communism]] in 1989, the Senate was reinstated as the second house of a bicameral [[National Assembly of Poland|national assembly]], while the ''Sejm'' remained the first house. The ''Sejm'' is now composed of 460 deputies elected by [[proportional representation]] every four years.

Between 7 and 20 deputies are elected from each constituency using the [[d'Hondt method]] (with one exception, in 2001, when the [[Sainte-Laguë method]] was used), their number being proportional to their constituency's population. Additionally, a threshold is used, so that candidates are chosen only from parties that gained at least 5% of the nationwide vote (candidates from ethnic-minority parties are exempt from this threshold).<ref name=autogenerated1 />

<gallery class="center">
Image:Sejm RP.jpg|The ''Sejm'' building in [[Warsaw]]
File:PolskiSejm007.jpg|The ''Sejm'''s main hall
File:PolskiSejm101.jpg|Sessions chamber in the ''Sejm''
File:Sejm Plenary Hall viewed from the rostrum.JPG|Sessions chamber viewed from the rostrum
Marshal's chair Sejm Plenary Hall.JPG|Marshal's chair in the sessions chamber
File:Sejm cross.JPG|[[Sejm cross|''Sejm'' cross]]
File:PolskiSejm010.jpg|Column hall in the ''Sejm''
</gallery>