The Liberum veto was a unanimity rule in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, allowing any member of parliament to veto any bill or end a session. It was intended to curb monarchical powers but often paralyzed the government until its abolition in 1791. The Sejm deteriorated into a chaotic state due to the frequent use of the veto by members under the influence of local nobles and foreign powers. The Constitution of May 3, 1791, abolished the veto, but the loss of territory led to the eventual dissolution of the Commonwealth in 1795.
The Liberum veto, which is Latin for “I freely forbid,” was a form of unanimity rule in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth used by members of parliament to defeat any measure under consideration by a single vote. Every member of the Sejm, or parliament, had the legal right to veto any bill under consideration or to close the current session and cancel all passed acts. The Liberum veto was granted on the assumption that all members of the Sejm were nobles of equal political standing, but in practice it often paralyzed the government until its abolition in 1791.
The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was a federation of countries governed by a common elected monarch from 1569 to 1795. The Sejm was generally convened by the king every two years. Each region elected a deputy from the local land assembly, or sejmik, as a representative of the Sejm.
Every representative in the Sejm had the right of liberum veto from the mid-16th century to the end of the 18th. It was intended to curb monarchical powers by allowing any member to veto legislation and bring an end to an ongoing session of the Sejm. In reality, this legal right meant that every bill introduced had to be passed unanimously.
A Kiev deputy first used this unanimity rule to end a legislative session in 1669. It was used extensively after this first instance, making it difficult to debate and pass legislation. Members also invoked this right to veto specific bills or to stop deliberations.
In the early 18th century, the liberum veto made the Commonwealth increasingly vulnerable to outside influence. Neighboring powers such as Russia and Prussia allegedly bribed Sejm members to use their veto to disrupt attempts to strengthen or reform the government. Local nobility jealous of their independence would also try to influence the Sejm through a member’s liberum veto.
As a result, the Sejm deteriorated into a chaotic state. The frequent use of the veto by members of the Sejm under the influence of local nobles made centralization of power impossible. Other members would close a session of the Sejm on behalf of a foreign benefactor if a bill under consideration threatened the benefactor’s interests.
The Commonwealth weakened as the Sejm ceased to function independently. King Stanislaus II August Poniatowski introduced constitutional reforms, including a limitation of the liberum veto in 1764, but this action led to civil war and military intervention by Russia in 1767. This was followed by the first partition of Poland in 1772, in which the The Commonwealth lost about 30 percent of its territories to Russia, Austria and Prussia.
The loss of territory finally prompted the Sejm to adopt the Constitution of May 3, 1791, which abolished the veto. Many historians believe the liberum veto was a major factor in the eventual dissolution of the Commonwealth in 1795. Others argue that the actual prohibition of the veto in 1764 is what facilitated the acceptance of a modern constitution.
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