Senate of the Commonwealth

During the reign of Casimir the Great , a new authority was created - the Royal Council ( Polish. Rada królewska ), consisting of dignitaries appointed by the king, such as sub-chancellor , podkarbiy , court marshal ^[1] . Representatives of the Małopolska nobility and the highest Małopolska clergy prevailed in this council. The Royal Council was an institution representing the interests of the most influential layers, membership of which was determined by the presence of rich estates and positions. In 1493 the first All-Polish Sejm was organized. The Royal Council was transformed into the high chamber of the Sejm - the Senate. The lower chamber - the Chamber of Deputies, became the “ embassy hut ” ^[1] . By the middle of the 17th century , three so-called “Sejm estates” were formed, which besides the two chambers included the king ^[2] .

At the beginning of the XVI century in the face of the clash of forces of magnates , gentry and church feudal lords in Poland, the process of formalizing the estate monarchy was completed. In 1501, the magnates succeeded in obtaining the publication of the Melnitsky Privilege, according to which power passed into the hands of the Senate ^[3] , while the king was practically assigned the role of its chairman ^[1] . But already in 1505 the nobility achieved the publication of the Radom Constitution . According to this constitution, new laws could be issued only with the consent of both chambers of the general (general) Diet, which became the highest legislative body restricting the royal power in favor of the feudal lords. Over time, the ambassadorial hut began to play an increasingly important role in the Diet ^[3] .

In 1569, the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were united in a confederal state - Rzeczpospolita . Since the king did not rule in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the senate claimed the role, the head of which, however, was the monarch ^[1] .

The Senate was composed of court dignitaries, Catholic bishops , and the highest territorial officials — voivods and castellans . Members of the Senate were appointed for life and, in fact, were responsible only to the Commonwealth. The senate was assigned primarily deliberative functions. In order for the king not to surround himself with his own, especially foreign advisors, the senators were given the task of controlling the monarch ^[1] . Resident senators , representing the permanent body of the Sejm, served as permanent royal advisors and reported directly to the Sejm. But the senate did not become an institution of public administration: the role of the monarch was decreasing, and the magnates who had gained strength found ways to influence the embassy hut ^[1] .

After the adoption of the Constitution on May 3, 1791, the powers of the Senate were significantly reduced. The House of Senators consisted of bishops, governors , castellans and ministers (132 people altogether), and was chaired by the king. The Senate has lost the right of legislative initiative and the adoption of laws in the Seimas and had only the right of suspensive veto . If the senate imposed a veto on a law passed by deputies, then after the law was re-adopted by the ambassadorial hut of the next cadence (term), the senate automatically approved it. In this case, the decisions of the Sejm (on temporary contributions, evaluation of the coin, the mobilization, war, peace, etc.) were adopted by a majority vote at a joint meeting of both chambers ^[4] . At the constitutional Diet, which was to be held every 25 years to revise the constitution, the Senate acted as a “council of elders,” whose opinion was not obligatory for the Chamber of Deputies.

Radaman A. Senate // Valalika Princes Lіtoўskae . Entsyklapedyya in 3 tons . - Mn. : BelEn , 2005. - T. 2: Cadets Corps - Yackevich. - 788 s. - ISBN 985-11-0378-0 .