Liberum Veto
The so-called liberum veto (Latin: veto → German: I forbid ) was a right of appeal in the Polish parliament, the Sejm. There, each deputy from the 16th century, the possibility ( right ), by a single appeal ( veto ) had to prevent a decision or take them down, as decisions had to be unanimous.
History
On March 8, 1652 was a first application of the liberum veto. King John II Casimir had given the large number of problems made a motion to extend the meeting time of the Sejm. The Landbote Władysław Siciński protests of and left the room, so the opposition could not be eliminated as in previous cases, with persuasion or violence. Since the protest could not be repealed, was the Sejm as a " torn " and everything Negotiated than undone. In November 1669, the first Reichstag before the end of the regular meeting time by the veto of a single country messengers (Adam Olizar, sub- judges and delegate from Kiev) was torn.
The precedents established by this Constitution had a clause in the following decades, a negative impact on the political practice in Poland. The liberum veto was (at least, not in the " legitimate " use his " abuse" ) is considered an ancient privilege of knighthood against the claims of the powerful, which had such a high regulatory capital value in the minds of the noble nation that they wanted to reveal it by no means.
Given the fundamental crisis of landlord farming and the eroding economic base of small and medium-sized country nobility ( szlachta zagonowa, szlachta cząstkowa, szlachta ) since the second half of the 17th century, it has also become an instrument of the powerful magnate families ( oligarchia magnacka ) to safeguard its advantages over the crown and the mass of the landed gentry, for example in terms of load distribution in the financing of necessary reforms. Has also made it was an expression of particularism of the great magnates Evil that determine their local policies on the state legislatures ( Sejmik ) over dependent on them ( and sometimes even paid ) brother and neighborhoods of the landed gentry, and thereby control the Diet or " rip " let. This was facilitated by the fact that many regional problems ( eg complaints about officers ) pursuant to the Constitution were to be solely decided by the Reichstag and thus an extensive pool of valid appeal mechanism represented.
Until 1788 were " torn " in this way 53 Reichstag. Under Michael Wiśniowiecki (r. 1669-1674 ), there were three of five diets and John III. Sobieski (ruled 1674-1696 ), five of eleven diets that were torn. Of the thirty-seven diets Saxon times were only twelve to a decision. Under Augustus III. (r. 1733-1763 ) could be taken in the years after 1736 absolutely no Reichstag decision more.
This peculiarity of the political order was exploited by the Polish magnates parties and of Poland's neighbors ( Russia, Prussia, etc.) to block reform proposals of the counterparty and unpleasant decisions in the Sejm, they won by individual provincial deputies for themselves. Especially stood since the twenties of the 18th century, the " family " or the house Czartoryski and the Potocki opposite. The rise of the Czartoryski was through the promotion of the Saxon court, the easier it enforce its policies ( in particular the provision of the Polish crown for the House of Wettin ) hoped. Your opponent and skipped in favor of the court magnates then gathered around the Potocki and formed an approximately equally strong counterparty ( "patriots", "Republicans "). Both parties had their own contacts abroad, with the Czartoryski on the support of Russia and the Potocki based on that of France. The increased awareness of the nobility for the massive internal and external political problems in Poland then led to the time of Augustus III. to a plethora of reform proposals of both parties, who failed all.
Despite the ongoing criticism of the disability of the Reichstag, but since the first half of the 17th century advised hardly any of the constitutional theorists to restrict the liberum veto, let alone its abolition. Stanisław Konarski (1700-1773) was in the 40s of the 18th century, the first critic to the goal of a fundamental constitutional reform.
Basically, it was hard despite all rivalries, " rip " a Reichstag. The troublemaker was constantly threatened and there was an attempt to force him to talk and to abandon its blockade, so that he, for example, after registering his protest the deliberations simply stayed away. The corresponding procedure required the backing of a magnate party and other provincial deputies, so that in this case different tactics were used. Frequently they delayed the negotiations by polemical attacks or flimsy additional requests to trivialities, while the other party simply countered with the immediate assumption or rule out these requests, thereby preventing a direct rupture of the Reichstag within the meaning of precedent was looking for. But ultimately always new barriers have been created by new limited veto, so that the negotiations ended without result, without having to commit too open breach of the law or could look for individuals to blame. Even with a favorable course Reichstag people lit no later than the completion of the work under the exercise of the right of "free voice" uncontrolled discussion in which it then was no signature performance of Deputies.
In the wake of the political traffic stagnated in the country and turned around very rudimentary and not very well thought-out reform proposals or was an atmosphere of violence (eg on the country days after the failure of the Crown Tribunal in Petrikau 1749) accompanied. The failure of the Reichstag also promoted the abuse of office, as the Minister had not held accountable. After 1764 no longer applied, given the increasing dissolution of the state, the liberum veto. But attempts to curtail the power of nobility or the abolition of the liberum veto subjected to interventions by neighboring countries after themselves. Sometimes even speech bans have been imposed in the Reichstag, in this context, what was then called " Dumb Sejm ". The introduction of majority rule by the Constitution of May 3, 1791 led directly to a Russian - Polish war.