thumb|[[Constitution of 3 May 1791 (painting)|Constitution of 3 May 1791, by Matejko. Foreground: King Stanisław August (left) enters St John's Cathedral, in Warsaw, where deputies will swear to uphold the Constitution. Background: the Royal Castle, where the Constitution has just been adopted.]]

The Constitution of 3 May 1791, In the words of two of its principal authors, Ignacy Potocki and Hugo Kołłątaj, the 1791 Constitution was "the last will and testament of the expiring Homeland".

Background

Polish constitutionalism can be traced to the 13th century, when government by consensus and representation was already well established in the young Polish state. The emergence of parliamentary bodies, the sejm and sejmiki, followed in the first half of the 16th century. By the 17th century, Poland's legal and political tradition was characterized as parliamentary institutions and a system of checks and balances on state power, which was itself limited by decentralization. This system, which primarily benefited the Polish-Lithuanian nobility (szlachta), came to be known as the "nobles' democracy".

End of Golden Age

The 1791 Constitution was a response to the increasingly perilous situation in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, As he was struggling with the Sejm, in 1661 John Casimir whose reign saw highly destructive wars and obstructionism by the nobility correctly predicted that the Commonwealth was in danger of a partition by Russia, Brandenburg and Austria. A protest was submitted the next day by a small group of deputies, but on 5 May the matter was officially concluded and protests were invalidated by the Constitutional Deputation of the Sejm.]]

thumb|left|English edition, [[London, 1791]]

The Constitution of 3 May 1791 reflected Enlightenment influences, including Rousseau's concept of the social contract and Montesquieu's advocacy of a balance of powers among three branches of government — legislative, executive, and judicial — and of a bicameral legislature. Article II confirmed many old privileges of the nobility, stressing that all nobles were equal and should enjoy personal security and the right to property. Specialized resolutions, including treaties of alliance, declarations of war and peace, ennoblements and increases in national debt, needed a majority of both chambers voting jointly.

The manuscript in the Lithuanian language of the Constitution was made and it was also later published in English-, French-, and German-language editions.

The document's official name was Ustawa Rządowa ("Government Act"), where "government" referred to the political system.

Baecker, R., & Mucha, J. (2000). Constitution and Reform in Eighteenth Century Poland. The Constitution of 3 May 1791. Edited by Samuel Fiszman.

Further reading

  • Kasparek, Józef, The Constitutions of Poland and of the United States: Kinships and Genealogy, Miami, Florida, The American Institute of Polish Culture, 1980.
  • – compilation of facsimile reprints of 1791 legislation pertinent to the Constitution of 3 May 1791.
  • Photos of original document
  • Polishconstitution.org – about the 3 May 1791 Constitution, includes a partial English translation by Christopher Kasparek.
  • Collection of digitized versions of the 3 May 1791 Constitution and various related documents in the Digital National Library Polona.
  • Official web page about Constitution of 3 May (in English)