Constitution of May 3, 1791

Title page of Piotr Dufour’s 1791 printed edition of the Govern-ment Act (Constitution of May 3, 1791).

1 Government Act

Obl[ata] de 5 maii 1791 [Latin: “Registered, 5 May1791"]

1.1 [Preamble]

In the name of God, One in the Holy Trinity.Stanisław August, by the grace of God and the will ofthe people King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania,Ruthenia, Prussia, Mazowsze, Żmudź [Samogitia], Kiev,Wołyń [Volhynia], Podole, Podlasie, Livonia, Smolensk,Severia and Chernihiv, together with the confederated es-

tates in dual number representing the Polish people.Recognizing that the destiny of us all depends solely uponthe establishment and perfection of a national constitu-tion, having by long experience learned the inveteratefaults of our government, and desiring to take advantageof the season in which Europe finds itself and of this dyingmoment that has restored us to ourselves, free of the igno-minious dictates of foreign coercion, holding dearer thanlife, than personal happiness the political existence, exter-nal independence and internal liberty of the people whosedestiny is entrusted to our hands, and desiring to merit theblessing and gratitude of contemporary and future gener-ations, despite obstacles that may cause passions in us, wedo for the general welfare, for the establishment of lib-erty, for the preservation of our country and its borders,with the utmost constancy of spirit ordain this Constitu-tion and declare it to be entirely sacred and inviolable un-til the people, at the time by law prescribed, by their clearwill recognize a need to alter any of its articles. To whichConstitution the further statutes of the present Sejm shallapply in everything.

1.2 I. The Dominant Religion

The dominant national religion is and shall be the sacredRoman Catholic faith with all its laws. Passage from thedominant religion to any other confession is forbidden un-der penalties of apostasy. Inasmuch as that same holyfaith bids us love our neighbors, we owe to all persons,of whatever persuasion, peace in their faith and the pro-tection of the government, and therefore we guaranteefreedom to all rites and religions in the Polish lands, inaccordance with the laws of the land.

1.3 II. The Landed Nobility

Reverencing the memory of our ancestors as the foundersof a free government, we most solemnly assure to thenoble estate all liberties, freedoms, prerogatives, andprecedence in private and public life, and more partic-ularly we confirm, assure and recognize as inviolable therights, statutes and privileges justly and lawfully grantedto that estate by Kazimierz the Great, Louis the Hungar-ian, Władysław Jagiełło and his brother Witold, GrandDuke of Lithuania, and no less those by Władysław theJagiellonian and Kazimierz the Jagiellonian, by Jan Al-bert, the brothers Alexander and Zygmunt the First, andby Zygmunt August, the last of the Jagiellonian line. We

1

2 1 GOVERNMENT ACT

acknowledge the dignity of the noble estate in Poland asequal to any degree of nobility used anywhere. We rec-ognize all the nobility to be equal among themselves, notonly in seeking for offices and for the discharge of ser-vices to the country that bring honor, fame or profit, butalso in the equal enjoyment of the privileges and prerog-atives to which the noble estate is entitled, and above allwe desire to and do preserve sacred and intact the rightsto personal security, to personal liberty, and to property,landed and movable, even as they have been the title of allfrom time immemorial, affirming most solemnly that weshall permit no change or exception in law against any-one’s property, and that the supreme national authorityand the government instituted by it shall lay no claims toany citizen’s property in part or in whole under pretext ofjurium regalium [royal rights] or any other pretext what-ever. Wherefore we do respect, assure and confirm thepersonal security of, and all property by rights belong-ing to, anyone, as the true bond of society, as the pupil[źrenica] of civil liberty, and we desire that they remainrespected, ensured and inviolate for all time to come. Werecognize the nobility as the foremost defenders of libertyand of this Constitution, and we charge unto the virtue,citizenship and honor of every nobleman the reverence ofits sanctity and the safeguarding of its durability, as thesole bulwark of the country and of our liberties.

1.4 III. The Cities and Their Citizens

Wedesire tomaintain in its entirety, and declare to be partof this Constitution, the law passed at the present sejmunder the title, Our Free Royal Cities in the States of theCommonwealth, as a law that provides new, genuine andeffective force to the free Polish nobility for the securityof their liberties and the integrity of our common country.

1.5 IV. The Peasants

Both from justice, humanity and Christian duty, as fromour own self-interest properly understood, we accept un-der the protection of the law and of the national govern-ment the agricultural folk, from under whose hand flowsthe most copious source of the country’s wealth, and whoconstitute the most numerous populace in the nation andhence the greatest strength of the country, and we de-termine that henceforth whatever liberties, assignmentsor agreements squires authentically agree to with peas-ants of their estates, whether those liberties, assignmentsand agreements be done with groups or with individualinhabitants of a village, shall constitute a mutual obli-gation, in accordance with the true sense of the condi-tions and provisions contained in such assignments andagreements, subject to the protection of the national gov-ernment. Such agreements and the obligations proceed-ing therefrom, freely accepted by a landowner, shall sobind not only him but also his successors or purchasersof the right, that they shall never arbitrarily alter them.

Likewise peasants, of whatever estate, shall not withdrawfrom agreements freely entered into, or from assignmentsaccepted, or from duties therewith connected, except insuch manner and with such conditions as stipulated in theprovisions of said agreements, which, whether adopted inperpetuity or for a limited time, shall be strictly bindingupon them. Having thus guaranteed squires in all profitsdue them from the peasants, and desiring as effectivelyas possible to encourage the multiplication of the people,we declare complete freedom to all persons, both thosenewly arriving and those who, having removed from thecountry, now desire to return to their native land, insofaras every person newly arrived from any part, or returning,to the states of the Commonwealth, as soon as he set footupon Polish soil is completely free to use his industry asand where he will, is free to make agreements for settle-ment, wages or rents as and to such time as he agree, isfree to settle in city or countryside, and is free to residein Poland or to return to whichever country he wish, hav-ing previously acquitted such obligations as he had freelytaken upon himself.

1.6 V. The Government, or Designation ofPublic Authorities

All authority in human society takes its origin in the willof the people. Therefore, that the integrity of the states,civil liberty, and social order remain always in equilib-rium, the government of the Polish nation ought to, and bythe will of this law forever shall, comprise three authori-ties, to wit: a legislative authority in the assembled estates,a supreme executive authority in a King and Guardianship,and a judicial authority in jurisdictions to that end insti-tuted or to be instituted.

1.7 VI. The Sejm, or Legislative Authority

The Sejm, or the assembled estates, shall be divided intotwo chambers: a Chamber of Deputies, and a Chamberof Senators presided over by the King.The Chamber of Deputies, as the image and repositoryof national sovereignty, shall be the temple of legislation.Therefore all bills shall be decided first in the Chamber ofDeputies: primo, as to general laws, that is, constitutional,civil, criminal, or for the institution of perpetual taxes, inwhich matters proposals submitted by the throne to theprovinces [województwa], districts [ziemie] and counties[powiaty] for discussion, and by instructions coming tothe Chamber, shall be taken for decision first; secundo,as to resolutions of the Sejm, that is, temporary levies, de-gree of coin, contraction of public debt, ennoblementsand other incidental rewards, disposition of public ex-penditures ordinary and extraordinary, war, peace, finalratification of treaties of alliance and trade, any diplo-matic acts and agreements involving the law of nations,the quitting of executive magistracies, and like matters

1.8 VII. The King, the Executive Authority 3

corresponding to the chief national needs, in which mat-ters proposals from the throne shall come directly to theChamber of Deputies and shall have priority of proce-dure.The duty of the Chamber of Senators, comprising bish-ops, province chiefs [wojewodowie], castellans and min-isters, presided over by the King, who is entitled to cast avotum [vote] of his own, and secondly to resolve paritas[parity: an equal division of votes] in person or by send-ing his judgment to that Chamber, is: primo, to adopt,or to retain for further deliberation by the nation, by themajority vote provided in law, every law which, havingformally passed the Chamber of Deputies, shall imme-diately be sent to the Senate. Adoption shall confer theforce and sanctity of law. Retention shall only suspend alaw until the next ordinary Sejm, at which, if it be agreedto once again, the law suspended by the Senate shall beadopted; secundo, to decide every resolution of the Sejmin the above-enumerated matters, which the Chamber ofDeputies shall immediately send to the Senate, togetherwith the Chamber of Deputies by majority vote, and theconjoint majority, provided by law, of both Chambersshall be the judgment and will of the estates.We stipulate that senators and ministers shall not havea votum decisivum [decisive vote] in the Sejm in mattersconcerning their conduct of office, either in the Guardian-ship or in commission, and at such time shall have a seatin the Senate only to give explication upon demand of theSejm.A legislative and ordinary Sejm shall be ever ready. Itshall begin every two years and last as provided in a lawon Sejms. A ready Sejm, convoked in exigencies, shalldecide only about the matter in which it be convoked,or about an exigency befallen after it be convoked. Nolaw shall be abrogated at the ordinary Sejm at which ithas been enacted. A Sejm shall comprise the number ofpersons provided by lower law, both in the Chamber ofDeputies and in the Chamber of Senators.We solemnly confirm the law on regional sejms [sejmiki],enacted at the present Sejm, as a most essential founda-tion of civil liberty.Inasmuch as legislation cannot be conducted by all, andthe nation to that end employs as agents its freely electedrepresentatives, or Deputies, we determine that Deputieselected at regional sejms shall, in legislation and in generalneeds of the nation, be considered under this Constitutionas representatives of the entire nation, being the repositoryof the general confidence.Everything, everywhere, shall be decided by majorityvote; therefore we abolish forever the liberum veto ["freeveto"], confederations of any kind, and confederate se-jms, as being opposed to the spirit of this Constitution,subversive of government, and destructive of society.Preventing on one hand abrupt and frequent changes ofthe national constitution, and on the other recognizing the

need to perfect it after experiencing its effects upon thepublic weal, we fix a season and time for revision andamendment of the Constitution every twenty-five years.We desire that such a constitutional sejm be extraordi-nary in accordance with the provisions of a separate law.

1.8 VII. TheKing, the Executive Authority

No government, be it the most perfect, can stand withoutstrong executive authority. The happiness of peoples de-pends upon just laws, the effect of the laws--upon theirexecution. Experience teaches that neglect of this part ofgovernment has filled Poland with misfortunes. There-fore, having reserved unto the free Polish people the au-thority tomake laws for itself and the power to keepwatchupon all executive authority, as well as to elect officials tomagistracies, we confer the authority of supreme execu-tion of the laws to the King in his council, which councilshall be called the Guardianship of the Laws.The executive authority is strictly bound to observe thelaws and to carry them out. It shall act of itself where thelaws permit, and where they need supervision, execution,or even forceful aid. Obedience is owed to it always byall magistracies; we leave in its hand the power to pressmagistracies that be disobedient or remiss in their duties.The executive authority shall not enact or interpret laws,impose taxes or levies by any name, contract public debts,alter the distribution of treasury revenues established bythe Sejm, wage war, or definitive[ly] conclude peace ortreaties or any diplomatic act. It shall be free to conductonly interim negotiations with foreign states, and to taketemporary and timely measures requisite for the securityand peace of the country, of which it shall inform the nextassembly of the Sejm.We desire and determine that the throne of Poland shallbe forever elective by families. Experience of disastrousinterregnums periodically overturning the government,the obligation to safeguard every inhabitant of the Polishland, the sealing forever of avenue to the influences of for-eign powers, thememory of the former grandeur and hap-piness of our country under continuously reigning fami-lies, the need to turn foreigners away from ambition forthe throne, and to turn powerful Poles toward the single-minded cultivation of national liberty, have indicated toour prudence that the throne of Poland be passed on byright of succession. We determine, therefore, that fol-lowing the life that Divine beneficence shall grant to us,the present-day Elector of Saxony shall reign in Poland.The dynasty of the future kings of Poland shall beginwith the person of Frederick Augustus, present-day Elec-tor of Saxony, to whose male successors de lumbis [fromthe loins] we reserve the throne of Poland. The eldestson of the reigning king shall succeed his father to thethrone. Should the present-day Elector of Saxony haveno male issue, then the consort, with the consent of theassembled estates, selected by the Elector for his daugh-

4 1 GOVERNMENT ACT

ter shall begin the male line of succession to the throneof Poland. Wherefore we declare Maria Augusta Nepo-mucena, daughter of the Elector, to be infanta of Poland,reserving to the people the right, which shall be subject tono prescription, to elect another house to the throne afterthe extinction of the first.Every King, on ascending the throne, shall execute anoath to God and to the Nation, that he will preserve thisConstitution and the pacta conventa ["agreed-to agree-ments"] that shall be drawn up with the present-day Elec-tor of Saxony, as destined to the throne, and which shallbind him even as those of the past.The person of the king is sacred and secure from every-thing. Doing nothing of himself, he shall be answerablefor nothing to the nation. He shall not be autocrat butfather and chief to the nation, and as such this law andConstitution deems and declares him to be. The incomesas they shall be provided for in the pacta conventa, andthe prerogatives proper to the throne as stipulated by thisConstitution to the future Elect, shall not be touched.All public acts, tribunals, courts of law, magistracies, coinand stamps shall go under the King’s name. The King,to whom shall be left every power of beneficence, shallhave ius agratiandi [the right to pardon] those sentencedto death, except in crlminibus status [in crimes of state].To the King shall belong the supreme disposition of thecountry’s armed forces in wartime and the appointmentof army commanders, howbeit with their free change bythe will of the nation; it shall be his duty to commissionofficers and appoint officials pursuant to the provisions oflower law, to appoint bishops and senators pursuant to theprovisions of that law, andministers, as the prime officialsof the executive authority.The Guardians, or royal council, added to the King forsupervision of the integrity and execution of the laws,shall comprise: primo the Primate, as chief of the Polishclergy and as president of the Educational Commission,who may substitute for himself among the Guardians thefirst bishop ex ordine [in rank], neither of whom shall signdecisions; secundo five ministers, to wit, a minister of po-lice, a minister of the seal, a minister belli [of war], a min-ister of the treasury, and a minister of the seal for foreignaffairs; tertio two secretaries, of whom one shall keep theprotocol of the Guardians, the other the protocol of for-eign affairs; both without a decisive votum.The Successor the Throne, having emerged fromminorityand executed an oath to uphold the Constitution, may bepresent at all sessions of the Guardians, but without a vote[voice?: the Polish głos may mean either].TheMarshal of the Sejm, elected for two years, shall be ofthe number serving among the Guardians, without enter-ing into their decisions, solely in order to convoke a readySejm in the event that he recognize in the cases requiringthe mandatory convocation of a ready Sejm, a true need,and the King demur at convoking it, when said Marshalshall issue to the Deputies and Senators circular letters

convoking them to a ready Sejm and stating the causesof its convocation. The only cases requiring the manda-tory convocation of a Sejm are the following: primo, in anexigency involving the law of nations, more particularlyin the event of war hard by the borders; secundo, in theevent of internal disorder that threatens revolution in thecountry or collision between magistracies; tertio, in evi-dent danger of famine; quarto, in the country’s bereave-ment by death of the King, or in his dangerous illness. Alldecisions in the council of Guardians shall be discussedby the above-mentioned body of persons. The royal deci-sion shall prevail after all opinions have been heard, thatthere be a single will in the execution of law. Thereforeevery decision from the Guardians shall issue under theKing’s name and with the signature of his hand, but itshall also be signed by one of the ministers seated amongthe Guardians, and thus signed, it shall oblige obedience,and shall be carried out by the commissions or by any ex-ecutive magistracies, but particularly in such matters asare not explicitly excluded by this law. In the event thatnone of the seated ministers wish to sign the decision, theKing shall abandon the decision, but should he persist init, the Marshal of the Sejm shall request convocation ofthe ready Sejm, and if the King delay convocation, theMarshal shall convoke it.Even as to appointment of all ministers, so also is it theKing’s right to summon one of them from every depart-ment of administration to his council of Guardians. Thissummoning of a minister to sit among the Guardians shallbe for two years, with the King’s free reconfirmation ofit. Ministers summoned to the council of Guardians shallnot sit in commissions [i.e., ministries].In the event that a two-thirds majority of secret votes ofthe two conjoint Chambers of a Sejm demand change ofa minister either in the Guardians or in an office, the Kingshall immediately appoint another in his place.Desiring that the Guardians of the National Laws bebound to strict accountability to the nation for any andall their misdeeds, we determine that, when ministers becharged with breach of law by a deputation designatedto examine their deeds, they shall answer in their ownpersons and property. In any such impeachments, theassembled estates shall by simple majority vote of theconjoint Chambers send the inculpated ministers to sejmcourts for their just punishment equalling the crime or,their innocence being demonstrated, their release fromproceedings and punishment. For the orderly carryingout of executive authority, we institute separate Commis-sions, having connection with the council of Guardiansand bound in obedience to it. Commissioners shall beelected to them by the Sejm to carry on their offices fora time set by law. These Commissions are: primo of Ed-ucation, secundo of Police, tertio of the Armed Forces,quarto of the Treasury.The provincial [wojewódzkie] commissions of order in-stituted at this Sejm, also subject to the supervision of

1.11 X. The Education of Royal Sons 5

the Guardians, shall receive orders through the above-mentioned intermediary Commissions, respective[ly] asto the objects of the authority and obligations of each ofthem.

1.9 VIII. The Judicial Authority

The judicial authority shall not be carried out either by thelegislative authority or by the King, but by magistraciesinstituted and elected to that end. And it shall be so boundto places, that every man find justice close by, that thecriminal see everywhere over him the formidable handof the national government.We institute, therefore: primo Courts of first instancefor every province [województwo], district [ziemia] andcounty [powiat], to which judges shall be elected at re-gional sejms. The courts of first instance shall be everready and vigilant to render justice to those in need ofit. From these courts, appeal shall go to chief tribunalsthat shall be for each Region [prowincyja], comprisingalso persons elected at regional sejms. And these courts,both of first and of last instance, shall be landed propri-etors’ courts [sądy ziemiańskie] for the nobility and for alllandowners in causis juris et facti [in matters of law andfact] with anyone.SecundoWe secure judicial jurisdictions to all cities, pur-suant to the law of the present Sejm on the free royal cities.TertioWe shall have separate referendary courts for eachRegion [prowincyja] inmatters of free peasants under for-mer laws subject to this court.QuartoWe preserve chancery [zadworne], assessorial, re-lational and Kurlandian courts.Quinto The executive Commissions shall have courts inmatters pertinent to their administration.Sexto In addition to courts in civil and criminal mattersfor all the estates, there shall be a supreme court, called aSejmCourt, to which persons shall be elected at the open-ing of every Sejm. To this court shall be subject crimesagainst the nation and the King, or crimina status [crimesof state].We command that a new code of civil and criminal lawsbe drawn up by persons designated by the Sejm.

1.10 IX. Regency

The council of Guardians shall be also a Regency, headedby the Queen, or in her absence by the Primate. A Re-gency may have place in only three cases: primo, duringthe King’s minority; secundo, during an infirmity causingpermanent mental alienaton; tertio, in the event that theKing be taken in war. Minority shall last only until 18years of age; and infirmity respecting permanent mentalalienation shall not be declared except by a ready Sejm, bymajority vote of three parts against the fourth of the con-

joint Chambers. In these three cases, the Primate of thePolish Crown shall immediately convoke the Sejm, and ifthe Primate be slow in this obligation, the Marshal of theSejm shall issue circular letters to the Deputies and Sen-ators. The ready Sejm shall arrange the order of seatingof the ministers in the Regency and shall empower theQueen to take the place of the King in his duties. Andwhen the King in the first case emerge from minority, inthe second come to complete health, in the third returnfrom captivity, the Regency shall tender him account ofits deeds and answer to the nation for the time of its of-fice, even as is prescribed of the council of Guardians atevery ordinary Sejm, in their own persons and property.

1.11 X. The Education of Royal Sons

Royal sons, whom the Constitution destines for succes-sion to the throne, are the first sons of the nation, where-fore attention to their good education is a concern ofthe nation, without prejudice, however, to parental rights.Under the government of the King, the King himself, to-gether with the Guardianship and with a supervisor ofthe education of the King’s sons designated by the estates,shall see to their education. Under the government of aRegency, the Regency, together with the afore-mentionedsupervisor, shall have the education of the Kings’s sonsentrusted to them. In either case, the supervisor des-ignated by the estates shall inform every ordinary Sejmabout the education and conduct of the royal sons. Itshall be a duty of the Educational Commission to submita scheme of instruction and education of the royal sonsfor confirmation by the Sejm, so that in their educationuniform rules continually and early instill in the mindsof future Successors to the Throne religion and love ofvirtue, country, liberty and the national constitution.

1.12 XI. The National Armed Force

The nation bears a duty to its own defense from attack andfor the safeguarding of its integrity. Therefore all citizensare defenders of the national integrity and liberties. Themilitary are nought but a defensive force drawn and or-dered from the general force of the nation. The nationowes reward and esteem to its military because they ded-icate themselves solely to the nation’s defense. It is themilitary’s duty to protect the nation’s borders and gen-eral peace, in a word, to be its strongest shield. That themilitary fulfill this charge unfailingly, they shall remainalways in obedience to the executive authority, as pre-scribed by law, and shall execute an oath of fidelity to thenation and to the King and to the defense of the nationalConstitution. Thus the nation’s military may be used forthe general defense of the country, for the safeguardingof fortresses and borders, or in aid of law, if any not beobedient to its execution.

6 2 OUR FREE ROYAL CITIES IN THE STATES OF THE COMMONWEALTH

1.13 [Signers:]

Stanisław Nałęcz Małachowski, Great Crown Refer-endary, Marshal of the Sejm and of the confederationof the Crown Regions [prowincye koronne]. Kazimierz,Prince Sapieha, General of Lithuanian artillery, Marshalof the confederation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.Józef Korwin Kossakowski, Bishop of Livonia and Kur-land, chief coadjutor of the Wilno Bishopric, as deputy.Antoni, Prince Jabłonowski, Castellan of Kraków, deputyfrom the senate of Lesser Poland [Małopolska]. SymeonKazimierz Szydłowski, Castellan of Żarnów, deputy fromthe senate of the Lesser Poland Region [prowincya] mp[manu propria, Latin: "(signed) by his own hand"]. Fran-ciszek Antoni Kwilecki of Kwilec, Castellan of Kalisz,deputy for the constitution from the senate of the GreaterPoland [Wielkopolska] Region [prowincya]. KazimierzKonstanty Plater, Castellan of Trakai [generalu trock-iego], deputy for the constitution from the senate of theGrand Duchy of Lithuania mp. Walerian Stroynowski,chamberlain of Busko, Deputy from Wołyń [Volhynia],deputy for the constitution from Lesser Poland. StanisławKostka Potocki, Deputy from Lublin, deputy for the con-stitution from the Lesser Poland Region [prowincya] mp.Jan Nepomucen Zboiński, Deputy from the Dobrzyń dis-trict, deputy for the constitution from the Greater PolandRegion [prowincya] mp. Tomasz Nowowieski, master ofthe hunt and Deputy from the Wyszogród district, deputyfor the constitution from the Greater Poland Region[prowincya]. Józef Radzicki, chamberlain and Deputyfrom the Zakroczym district, deputy for the constitutionfrom the Greater Poland Region [prowincya] mp. JózefZabiełło, Deputy from the Duchy of Samogitia, deputyfor the constitution. Jacek Puttkamer, Deputy from theprovince of Minsk, deputy for the constitution from theGrand Duchy of Lithuania Region [prowincya].

2 Our Free Royal Cities in theStates of the Commonwealth

[A Sejm act, adopted 18April 1791, and declared integralto the later May 3rd Constitution: see the Constitution,article III.]Obl[ata] de 21 aprilis 1791 {Latin: “Registered, 21 April1791"]

2.1 Article I. On the Cities

1-o We recognize all the royal cities in the lands of theCommonwealth as free.2-oWe recognize the citizens of these cities as free peo-ple, and the land within the cities inhabited by them, theirhomes, villages and territoria that lawfully now belong tothem, as their hereditary property, which fact shall notimpede pending litigation.

3-o We the King shall issue to cities whose foundationcharters have been lost, upon proof of their previous ex-istence, diplomata renovationis [renewed charters of priv-ileges] together with the grant of land that they now in-dubitably possess.4-oWe the King shall issue foundation charters, if they donot yet have them, to royal cities in which district regionalseyms are designated.5-o If a settlement of free people in a happily situatedplace on royal lands shall give its abode the pleasing formof a city, in that event we theKing shall issue to that settle-ment diploma erectionis [a founding charter] for the newcity, together with a grant of land.6-o Likewise squires on their lands shall have the right toestablish cities or to confer freedom upon the husband-men, and to make their cities locally hereditary; such set-tlements, however, shall not enter the rolls of free cities,except the squire shall by instrument of foundation grantthem hereditary land, and then we the King shall, uponthe squire’s own request, issue diploma confirmationis [adocument of confirmation] of this instrument and shallcommand the squire’s instrument of foundation to be in-scribed into said diploma.7-o Inasmuch as there is a single law for all cities, a citizenof any city whatever shall enjoy equal privileges under thepresent law.8-o All citizens of a city, whether of noble or civic birth,who wish to conduct commerce in pounds, cubits, etc., ifthey have or shall obtain property in the cities, of what-ever dignity, profession or craft they may be, shall beobliged to accept and abide by civic law. Others of thenobility may accept civic law.9-oAcceptance of civic law shall take place in the follow-ing manner. Everyone accepting civic law, on coming be-fore the civic authorities in person or through a plenipo-tentiary, shall make declaration in the following words:“I, N.N. [Latin abbreviation for nomen nescio, “I do notknow the name"], shall be faithful to HisMajesty theKingand to the Commonwealth, I take obedience to the lawsand statutes of the Sejm as the strictest duty, I wish to besubject to the superior authority of the city of N [Latinabbreviation for nomen, “name"], to which I am joined incitizenship, and shall keep every obligation, all of whichI pledge both for myself and for my heirs.” After the ex-ecution of the declaration, he shall be inscribed into thebook of citizens of the city.10-o The cities shall not refuse admission to citizenship,and inscription into the civic book, of any honest foreign-ers, nor of any craftsmen, free people, or Christians notby law subject to anyone, and that without fee.11-o Nobles by birth as well as those citizens of the civicestate who shall be admitted to the dignity of nobility,shall henceforth in no way be damaged or demeaned, ei-ther themselves or their heirs, in the dignity or preroga-tives of nobility, by accepting civic citizenship, abiding in

2.2 Article II. On the Prerogatives of Townspeople 7

it, holding offices, conducting commerce, or maintainingmanufactures.12-o The election, by the citizens of the cities, of theirown civic authorities, to wit, of mayors, aldermen and alland sundry officials, as an attribute of liberty, abides withthe liberty of the city. Likewise shall the cities have powerto make dispositions as to internal order and see to theirexecution, about which they shall inform the Commissionof Police through reports.13-oWherefore all citizens of a city who are inscribed inthe civic book and own a hereditary property, may electand be elected to all civic offices by amajority of opinions.But no one may unite an executive office and a landedproprietor’s function with the office and function of civicplenipotentiary, under pain of invalidating both; nor maya currently serving military person be a civic official.

2.2 Article II. On the Prerogatives ofTownspeople

1-oWe extend the cardinal law of neminem captivabimusnisi iure victum [Latin: “We shall imprison no one unlesshe be lawfully sentenced"] to persons residing in towns,save for guileful bankrupts who fail to post sufficient bailin court and who have been caught in the act.2-o Cities wherein appellate courts are designated, shallbefore every ordinary sejm elect one plenipotentiary bymajority vote from among citizens who own hereditaryproperty in the cities, are suitable for public service, arecrimine non notatos [not punished for a crime], are notunder legal proceedings, and are distinguished by previ-ous civic office, with freedom to choose said plenipoten-tiaries as well from other cities. These plenipotentiariesshall come on the day appointed for the sejm’s openingto the city designated for sejms and shall give the mar-shal of the sejm the result of their election. At provincial[prowincjonalne] sessions, plenipotentiaries of the citiesshall be elected to the commissions of Police, Treasuryand the assessory, and at the selfsame sessions they shallbe designated each to the commission and assessory towhich they are to belong. But though all these may siton the said commissions and the assessory as designated,still no more shall sit on the Commissions of Treasuryand Police than two each, nor in the assessory more thanthree each from every province [prowincya]. The com-missioners and assessors in these commissions and inthe assessory shall have vocem activam [an active voice(vote?)] in matters pertaining to cities and commerce,and in other circumstances vocem consultivam [a consul-tative voice (vote?)]. If any or all the plenipotentiariesfrom the cities which have the right to elect plenipoten-tiaries shall be confirmed further, they may remain for asecond two years. And in arranging the table of expendi-tures we shall establish a salary for these commissionersand assessors, for such number as is designated to sit onthe commissions and on the assessory.

3-o That the government’s solicitude for all the cities shalldeal proper justice to their requests, we permit our citiesto bring the desideria [desires] of the cities before thesejm through the civic assessors or commissioners serv-ing on the assessory and on the Commissions of Treasuryand Police; and these, when it become necessary and theydesire it, shall ask the marshal of the sejm for permissionto speak [głos], and this shall not be denied them, andthey shall argue in the manner today practiced, wherebydelegates from the commissions take the floor.4-o After two years’ public service in the aforesaid com-missions or assessory, the plenipotentiaries elected by thecities shall at the next sejm immediately be ennobled,without fee for the patent nobilitatis [of nobility], if theynot yet be nobles.5-o Every townsman may henceforth acquire landed andother property as hereditament, own it entirely, and be-queath it to his heirs as his rightful successors, possessproperty by succession or iure potioritatis [by right ofpreference: a graduated priority of close family mem-bers in purchasing real property in the event of its sale bythe current owner]; for which property, though they betownspeople, they shall be answerable to the court properto property.6-o Such townsman as shall purchase an entire village ortown as hereditament that pays in taxes, every 10th grosz,at least 200 złotych, shall by virtue of the present law atthe very first sejm, if he submit written application for itthrough the sejm marshal to the estates, be ennobled.7-o Additionally, at every sejm 30 townspeople who ownhereditary property in the cities shall be admitted to theprivilege of nobility, with first consideration given tothose who distinguish themselves in the military, serveon civilian-military committees of order, establish man-ufactures, conduct commerce in products of the country,and upon recommendation by landed deputies and uponrecommendation by the cities.8-o In all the armed forces (excepting the national cav-alry), in every corps and regiment, citizens of civic con-dition shall henceforth be eligible to attain officers’ ranks.And he who attains the rank of Stabskapitaen or companycaptain in the infantry, or captain of horse in a regiment,shall by virtue of the present law become a nobleman aswell as his descendants, with all the prerogatives theretopertaining, and we the King shall, upon showing of theircommissions, issue diplomata nobilitatis [patents of no-bility] to them, to which no stamp duty shall apply.9-o Citizens of civic condition shall henceforth be eligi-ble to serve in the chancelleries and palestras of all gov-ernment commissions, court dicasteries, and other lessercourts, to act as court defender and to perform other ser-vices and to advance in rank in these offices accordingto their merits and abilities; and whoever of these attainsthe rank of chancellery regent in government dicasteries,shall at the very next sejm be ennobled, and we the Kingshall issue such diploma nobilitatis without fee.

8 2 OUR FREE ROYAL CITIES IN THE STATES OF THE COMMONWEALTH

10-o In the spiritual estate, persons of civic conditionshall be eligible to hold prelatures and canonicates in col-legiate churches, and doctoral canonicates in cathedrals,as well as all beneficia saecularia et regularia [secular andmonastic benefices], excluding those that are establishedparticularly for persons of noble birth.11-o Commissioners from cities lying within the ambit ofthe commissions may be elected to the civilian-militarycommittees of order of provinces, districts and counties,three apiece to each committee, be they of noble birthor of civic condition, provided only they own hereditaryproperty in the city.12-o Our cities of Gdansk and Torun, when they haverequests, shall present them to the estates through theirsecretary to the marshal of the sejm or through their del-egates, if they so choose, upon receiving from themarshalof the sejm permission to speak [głos], which shall not bedenied them.13-o The penalty for falsely claiming possession of prop-erty shall be as follows: whoever give someone hereditarylanded property in exchange for a promissory note, shallforfeit it in perpetuity, and the court shall grant the saidproperty to him who demonstrates the promissory note.Even should it be the same person who holds the prop-erty in exchange for a promissory note who proves thisstatus of the property, it shall be granted to him in per-petuity. And the landed-property court shall judge suchcases praecisa appellatione [without appeal].14-oWe abrogate all previous laws and statutes contraryto the present law on cities, and we proclaim the presentact on cities to be constitutional law.

2.3 Article III. On Justice for Townspeople

1-o Leaving the cities to their proper jurisdictions withinthe city limits, we remove and exclude the cities withtheir suburbs from under all other jurisdictions, to wit, tri-bunal, landed-property, provincial, county [starościńskie]and castle [zamkowe], except for pending postcommis-sion matters that have been sent to tribunals. We refer themarshal’s jurisdiction, as pertaining only to the residen-tial city of us the King, to the descriptions of the authorityof that jurisdiction.2-o We abrogate secular and ecclesiastical jurisdictionsand small towns created within lands initially granted tocities, if they are hitherto within the property, only as tojudicature and police; we subject these jurisdictions to thejurisdiction of the civic authorities, while we reserve allrents and incomes of any nature for the owners of theselands in the jurisdictions.3-o Where, however, cities have hereditary landed vil-lages, they shall answer in matters of those villages in ju-risdictions proper to property.4-o All citizens owning property in a city and engaged in

any commerce or craft shall submit to civic jurisdictionand pay taxes equally, without regard to any exemption.5-o In each city, the elected civic authorities shall consti-tute the judicial jurisdiction. In these magistracies, mat-ters of all kinds shall be tried in prima instantia [in the firstinstance]. Cases not exceeding 300 złotych or in a misde-meanor case entailing a punishment of three days’ impris-onment, shall be concluded definitively in these magistra-cies without possibility of appeal. In larger cases, appealto higher appellate courts shall be permitted.6-o For such appellate courts we designate the follow-ing cities, namely, in the Lesser Poland Region [prow-incya małopolska] the cities of: Kraków, Lublin, Lutsk,Zhitomir, Vinnitsa, Kamenets-Podolskiy, Drohiczyn. Inthe Greater Poland Region [prowincya wielkopolska], thecities of: Poznań, Kalisz, Gniezno, Łęczyca, Warsaw,Sieradz, Płock. In the Lithuania Region [prowincya], thecities of: Vilnius, Grodno, Kaunas, Novogrudok, Minsk,Brest-Litovsk, Pinsk. To the appellate court in Krakówshall belong the cities lying in Kraków Province [wojew-ództwo] and in the counties of Sandomierz, Wiślica andChęciny. To the appellate court in Lublin shall belongthe cities lying in Lublin Province, the Stężyca district,the counties of Radom and Opoczno, and the Chełm dis-trict. To the appellate court in Lutsk shall belong the citiesin the provinces of Volhynia and Belz. To the appellatecourt in Zhitomir shall belong the cities of Kiev Province.To the appellate court in Kamenets-Podolskiy shall be-long the cities of Podolia Province. To the appellate courtin Vinnitsa shall belong the cities of Bratslav Province. Tothe appellate court in Drohiczyn shall belong the cities ofPodlasie Province. To the appellate court in Poznań shallbelong the cities of Poznań Province and the Wschowadistrict. To the appellate court in Kalisz shall belong thecities of Kalisz Province and Konin County, and to Kaliszshall belong the cities of that part of Pyzdry County thatis on that side of the Warta River. To the appellate courtin Gniezno shall belong the cities of Gniezno Province,Kcynia County, and that part of Pyzdry County that ison the Gniezno side of the Warta. To the appellate courtin Sieradz shall belong the cities of Sieradz Province andof the Wieluń district. To the appellate court in Warsawshall belong the cities of the Duchy of Mazowsze and ofthe province of Rawa. To the appellate court in Łeęczycashall belong the cities of the provinces of Łęczyca, BrześćKujawski and Inowrocław. To the appellate court inPłock shall belong the cities of Płock Province, the Za-wskrzyń district, and the Dobrzyń district. To the appel-late courts in the cities of the Grand Duchy of Lithua-nia Region [prowincya], namely: to the appellate courtin the city of Vilnius shall belong the cities of VilniusProvince, the counties of Oshmiana, Lida, Ukmerge andBraslav, the province of Trakai and the county of Trakai.To the appellate court in the city of Grodno shall be-long the cities of the counties of Grodno, Volkovysk andMerech. To the appellate court in the city of Kaunas shallbelong the cities of the Duchy of Samogitia, of the coun-

2.4 [Signers:] 9

ties of Kaunas, Prensk [?: powiat preński] and Upita. Tothe appellate court in the city of Novogrudok shall be-long the cities of Novogrudok Province and the countiesof Slonim and Slutsk [?: powiat słuczoreski]. To the ap-pellate court in the city of Brest-Litovsk shall belong thecities of Brest-Litovsk Province and of Kobrin County.To the appellate court in the city of Pinsk shall belongthe cities of the counties of Pinsk, Transriverine Pinsk[powiat pińsko-zarzeczny], Mozyr and Rechitsa. To theappellate court in the city of Minsk shall belong the citiesof the provinces of Minsk, Polotsk and Vitebsk, and ofOrsha County.7-o In these appellate cities, every two years, shall beelected 5 persons each, noble and non-noble, property-owning townspeople, even persons from the civic author-ities of those cities, or from other cities of that depart-ment that are assigned to those appellate courts. And thepersons elected shall constitute the appellate court, withthe proviso that persons from the civic authorities and al-dermen elected to the appellate court, while serving inappellate office, shall not sit on or judge in courts primaeinstantiae [of first instance] of the civic authorities fromwhich they are chosen.8-o These courts shall judge matters on appeal from thecivic authorities, whose value exceeds 300 złotych or thepenalty-−3 days’ prison, and does not exceed the value of3,000 złotych or the penalty-−3 weeks’ prison, and that,with finality, without possibility of appeal. In all mattersof value greater than 3,000 złotych, and penalty--than 3weeks’ prison, appeal as hitherto from the civic authori-ties primae instantiae we desire by the present law to pro-ceed not to the appellate courts of the cities but to ourchancery [zadworne] courts, both in the Crown [Polandproper] and in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.9-o Civic authorities shall not judge criminal matters butshall send them directly to appellate courts, which havepower to judge these criminal matters, with the stipula-tion that a criminal sentenced to a term in prison shall besubject to execution of the decree. But when he is sen-tenced to perpetual imprisonment or to death, the appel-late court shall send the inculpatory evidence and the de-cree to the assessory court. If the assessory court deemsthe decree of the appellate court, sentencing the culpritto perpetual imprisonment or to death, to be proper, onlythen shall the decree be executed. And we retain with thechancery courts matters of malfeasance by civic offices,as well as of owners’ incomes from cities, and all othersstipulated by the laws of the Commonwealth.10-oWe stipulate that cities shall be subject to the Com-mission of Police in matters of internal government andgeneral civic incomes.

2.4 [Signers:]

[The signers of the Free Royal Cities act are identical withthose of the Government Act, except for the absence of

Józef Korwin Kossakowski, Antoni Jabłonowski, Fran-ciszek Antoni Kwilecki, and Tomasz Nowowieski.]Translated from the Polish by Christopher Kasparek.

Note about the translation:

This work is a translation and has a separatecopyright status to the applicable copyright protectionsof the original content.Original:

This work was published before January 1, 1923, and isin the public domain worldwide because the author diedat least 100 years ago.Translation:

This work is licensed under the terms of the GNU FreeDocumentation License.

<div class="noprint” style=clear:both;">Return to top of page.

10 3 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

3 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

3.1 Text• Constitution of May 3, 1791 Source: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Constitution_of_May_3%2C_1791?oldid=5242007 Contributors:

Zhaladshar, Pathoschild, Logologist, Piotrus, BirgitteSB, Pathosbot, John Vandenberg, Xenophon (bot), KonradWallenrod~enwikisource,ZSBot, Nihil novi, Appleseed, JVbot, Redagavimas, Kathleen.wright5, Mathiasrex, Billinghurst, SDrewthbot, The Lloigor, CandalBot andAnonymous: 11

3.2 Images• File:Copyleft.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Copyleft.svg License: Public domain Contributors:

Own work Original artist: Zscout370, Sertion, e.a.• File:Copyright.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Copyright.svg License: Public domain Contributors:

see below Original artist: Unknown / see below• File:Heckert_GNU_white.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Heckert_GNU_white.svg License: CC

BY-SA 2.0 Contributors: gnu.org Original artist: Aurelio A. Heckert <aurium@gmail.com>• File:May_constitution_pre20th_cent_book_cover.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/May_

constitution_pre20th_cent_book_cover.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: [1] Original artist: Unknown• File:PD-icon.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/PD-icon.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Cre-

ated by uploader. Based on similar symbols. Original artist: Various. See log. (Original SVG was based on File:PD-icon.png byDuesentrieb, which was based on Image:Red copyright.png by Rfl.)

3.3 Content license• Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0