"People", "Peoples" - how the May 3, 1791 Constitution framers defined what the People is and handled the duality of the Commonwealth of the Two Nations

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Collection:
Mokslo publikacijos / Scientific publications
Document Type:
Straipsnis / Article
Language:
Anglų kalba / English
Title:
"People", "Peoples" - how the May 3, 1791 Constitution framers defined what the People is and handled the duality of the Commonwealth of the Two Nations
Authors:
Parent, Arnaud
In the Journal:
Open political science. 2019, 2, p. 96-107
Subject Category:
LT
Konstitucinė teisė. Konstitucija / Constitutional law. Constitution; Teisės istorija / History of law; 1569-1795. Lietuva ATR laikotarpiu; Lenkija (Poland); Lietuva (Lithuania).
Summary / Abstract:

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštija, XVIII a.; Abiejų Tautų Respublika; Ketverių metų seimas, 1788–1792; 1791 m. Gegužės 3 d. Konstitucija; Abiejų Tautų Tarpusavio Įžadas; Tauta; Piliečiai. Keywords: Grand Duchy of Lithuania, 18th century; Commonwealth of the Two Nations; Four-Year Sejm, 1788–1792; Constitution of May 3 1791; Reciprocal Guarantee of the Two Nations; People; Citizens.Reikšminiai žodžiai: Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė (LDK; Grand Duchy of Lithuania; GDL); Abiejų Tautų Respublika (ATR; Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów; Žečpospolita; Sandrauga; Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth); 18 amžius; Konstitucija, 1791; Ketverių metų seimas, 1788-1792 (Four-Year Sejm); Balsavimo teisė; Rinkimai; Constitution of May 3, 1791; 18th century; Voting rights; Election.

ENIn the Commonwealth of the Two Nations, significant legal texts were implemented under the rule of King Stanislaw August, the most important being the Constitution of May 3, 1791, adopted during the Four-Year Sejm (1788-1792). Its framers faced numerous challenges, first, because then only nobles were considered as constituting the Republic, one was to define who should be considered as a member of the People, who could be elected deputy to the Sejm, and at which condition. Second, since the 1569 Union of Lublin the Commonwealth is made of two distinct states: Poland (the Crown) and the Grand-Duchy of Lithuania, drafters had to handle Lithuanian statehood in a Constitution, which was primarily seen as a way to enhance unification of the two nations. Third, the Grand-Duchy of Lithuania having its own legislation, enclosed in the Lithuanian statute, (adopted in 1529, followed with a Second Statute in 1566, and a Third Statute in 1588), the question of its maintaining or not too had to be taken into consideration by framers. We hope that considering how these different issues were handled will shed a new light on the permanence of Lithuanian laws and political tradition in the May 3 Constitution. [From the publication]

DOI:
10.1515/openps-2019-0010
ISSN:
2543-8042
Subject:
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https://www.lituanistika.lt/content/94718
Updated:
2022-12-28 17:00:56
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