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Sejm
The Sejm (Polish: [sɛjm] ⓘ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (Polish: Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland.
The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the transition of government in 1989. Along with the upper house of parliament, the Senate, it forms the national legislature in Poland known as National Assembly (Polish: Zgromadzenie Narodowe). The Sejm comprises 460 deputies (singular poseł, rarely deputowany), elected every four years by universal ballot. The Sejm is presided over by a speaker, the "Marshal of the Sejm" (Marszałek Sejmu).
In the Kingdom of Poland, the term Sejm referred to the entire bicameral parliament, comprising the Chamber of Deputies (Izba Poselska) and the Senate, with the King presiding. It was thus a three-estate parliament. The 1573 Henrician Articles strengthened the assembly's jurisdiction, making Poland a constitutional elective monarchy. Since the Second Polish Republic (1918–1939), Sejm has referred only to the lower house of parliament.
During the existence of the Polish People's Republic, the Sejm, then a unicameral parliament, was the supreme organ of state power in the country. It was the only government branch in the state, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs were subservient to it. However, in practice it was widely considered to be a rubber stamp legislature which existed to approve decisions made by the ruling party, the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) as a formality, and which had little or no real power of its own. After the collapse of communism in 1989, the Sejm was restored as a bicameral, democratically elected parliament under the current Third Polish Republic.
Sejm (an ancient Proto-Lechitic word meaning "gathering" or "meeting") traces its roots to the King's Councils – wiece – which gained authority during the time of 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 Sejms only convened at the King's behest.
Following the 1493 Sejm in 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 other dignitaries; and the Chamber of Deputies, made up of 54 envoys elected by smaller local 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.
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 military service.
The Union of Lublin in 1569, united the 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 confirment of nobility.
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Sejm AI simulator
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Sejm
The Sejm (Polish: [sɛjm] ⓘ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (Polish: Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland.
The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the transition of government in 1989. Along with the upper house of parliament, the Senate, it forms the national legislature in Poland known as National Assembly (Polish: Zgromadzenie Narodowe). The Sejm comprises 460 deputies (singular poseł, rarely deputowany), elected every four years by universal ballot. The Sejm is presided over by a speaker, the "Marshal of the Sejm" (Marszałek Sejmu).
In the Kingdom of Poland, the term Sejm referred to the entire bicameral parliament, comprising the Chamber of Deputies (Izba Poselska) and the Senate, with the King presiding. It was thus a three-estate parliament. The 1573 Henrician Articles strengthened the assembly's jurisdiction, making Poland a constitutional elective monarchy. Since the Second Polish Republic (1918–1939), Sejm has referred only to the lower house of parliament.
During the existence of the Polish People's Republic, the Sejm, then a unicameral parliament, was the supreme organ of state power in the country. It was the only government branch in the state, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs were subservient to it. However, in practice it was widely considered to be a rubber stamp legislature which existed to approve decisions made by the ruling party, the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) as a formality, and which had little or no real power of its own. After the collapse of communism in 1989, the Sejm was restored as a bicameral, democratically elected parliament under the current Third Polish Republic.
Sejm (an ancient Proto-Lechitic word meaning "gathering" or "meeting") traces its roots to the King's Councils – wiece – which gained authority during the time of 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 Sejms only convened at the King's behest.
Following the 1493 Sejm in 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 other dignitaries; and the Chamber of Deputies, made up of 54 envoys elected by smaller local 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.
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 military service.
The Union of Lublin in 1569, united the 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 confirment of nobility.