The
Sejm is the
lower house of the
Polish parliament. Each member of Sejm is called
Poseł.
Before the 20th century, the term
"Sejm" referred to the entire three-
chamber Polish parliament, comprising the lower house (Chamber of Envoys; ), 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
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
Sejms powers increased.
The first Sejm
was composed of two chambers:
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 Sejms 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.
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.
Sejm of the Second Polish Republic
During the
interwar period of Poland's independence, the first
Sejm in 1919 passed the
Small Constitution of 1919, which introduced a
parliamentary-republic system, which was strengthened, in 1921, by the
March Constitution of Poland. In 1926 and 1935, the republic was weakened by
Józef Piłsudski's
May Coup, and, particularly, the
Polish Constitution of 1935, respectively.
Roza Pomerantz-Meltzer, member of a
Zionist party, was the first woman elected to the
Sejm, in 1919.
Sejm of the People's Republic of Poland
The
Sejm in the
People's Republic of Poland 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.
The
Sejm voted on the
budget as well as on the periodic "
national plans" that were a fixture of communist economies. The
Sejm deliberated in sessions that were ordered to convene by the
State Council.
The
Sejm also chose a
Prezydium ("presiding body") from among its members; the
marshall of which was always a member of the
United People's Party. In its preliminary session, the
Sejm also
nominated the
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 Chamber of Control and members of the
State Tribunal and the
Constitutional Tribunal, as well as the
Ombudsman (the last three bodies of which were created in the 1980s).
The
Senate of Poland was abolished by the
Polish people's referendum, in 1946, after which the
Sejm became the sole legislative body in Poland.
Sejm of the Republic of Poland
Sejm hall.
After the
fall of communism in 1989, the Senate was reinstated as the upper house of a
bicameral national assembly, while the
Sejm became the lower house. The
Sejm is now composed of 460 deputies elected by
proportional representation every four years.
Between 7 and 19 deputies are elected from each electorate using the
d'Hondt method (with one exception, in 2001, when the
Sainte-Laguë method was used) — their number being proportional to an electorate's population. Additionally, a threshold is used, so that candidates are chosen only from parties that gained at least 5% (8% for registered coalitions) of the nationwide vote (candidates from ethnic-minority parties are exempt from this threshold).
Standing committees
- Administration and Internal Affairs Committee
- Agriculture and Rural Development Committee
- Committee on Liaison with Poles Abroad
- Constitutional Accountability Committee
- Culture and Media Committee
- Deputies' Ethics Committee
- Education, Science and Youth Committee
- Enterprise Development Committee
- Environment Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry Committee
- European Union Affairs Committee
- Family and Women Rights Committee
- Foreign Affairs Committee (Poland)|Foreign Affairs Committee
- Justice and Human Rights Committee
- Local Self-Government and Regional Policy Committee
- National and Ethnic Minorities Committee
- National Defence Committee
- Physical Education and Sport Committee
- Public Finances Committee
- Rules and Deputies' Affairs Committee
- Special Services Committee
Last election
See also
Types of Sejm
Famous Sejms
