February Patent - Adoption

Adoption

In February 1861, the February Patent, a letters patent issued by Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I, was adopted as the “Imperial Constitution of 1861.” It was proclaimed as a revision of the previous October Diploma, the “Irrevocable Fundamental Law of the State.” The February Patent established in the Austrian Empire a bicameral imperial parliament, still called the Reichsrat, with an upper chamber appointed by the emperor and an indirectly elected lower chamber. The members of the upper chamber were appointed for life and included the crown prince, prominent bishops, heads of noble families, and great citizens. Delegates sent from the diets comprised the 343-member lower chamber, with 120 representatives from Hungary, 20 from Venetia, and 203 from the remaining non-Hungarian estates. The Emperor could check the actions of the lower chamber by appointing more of his supporters to the upper chamber.

The responsibilities of the new Parliament were divided into a ‘greater’ and a ‘lesser’ section. In the ‘greater’ section were matters that affected the empire as a whole, including Hungary. The ‘lesser’ section was for matters in the estates. Essentially, it superseded the function of the diets in non-Hungarian lands. The Hungarian Diet could function alongside the ‘lesser’ Parliament if needed. Under the February Patent, the Parliament had more decision-making power than it had before, but it was still completely subject to the Emperor. On the other hand, the Emperor could make political and military decisions without the Parliament’s consent and could make any decision he wanted whenever the Parliament was not in session, if it might be an ‘emergency.’