General Sejm - Special Sessions

Special Sessions

In addition to the regular sessions of the general sejm, in the era of electable kings, beginning in 1573, three special types of sejms handled the process of the royal election in the interregnum period. Those were:

• Convocation sejm (Sejm konwokacyjny). This sejm was called upon a death or abdication of a king by the Primate of Poland. The deputies would focus on establishing the dates and any special rules for the election (in particular, preparation of pacta conventa, bills of nobility privileges to be sworn by the king), and screening the candidates. This sejm was to last two weeks.
• Election sejm (Sejm elekcyjny), during which the nobility voted for the candidate to the throne. This type of sejm was open to all members of the nobility who desired to attend it, and as such they often gathered much larger number of attendees than the regular sejms. The exact numbers of attendees have never been recorded, and are estimated to vary from 10,000 to over 100,000; subsequently the voting could last for days (in 1573 it was recorded that it took four days). To handle the increased numbers, those sejms would be held in Wola, then a village near Warsaw. Royal candidates themselves were barred from attending this sejm, but were allowed to sent representatives. This sejm was to last six weeks.
• Coronation sejm (Sejm koronacyjny). This sejm was held in Kraków, where the coronation ceremony was traditionally held by the primate, who relinquished his powers to the chosen king. This sejm was to last two weeks.

Confederated sejm (Sejm skonfederowany) first appeared in 1573 (all convocation and election sejms were confederated), and became more popular in the 18th century as a counter to the disruption of liberum veto. Seen as emergency or extraordinary sessions, they relied on majority voting to speed up the discussions and ensure a legislative outcome. Many royal election sejms were confederated, as well as some of the normal sejm walny (general sejm) sessions.

Jędruch, who classifies the regular general sejm session as ordinary, in addition to the convocation, election and coronation sessions, also distinguished the following additional types:

• Council of state
• Constitutional
• Delegation (ending with a formation of committees)
• Extraordinary
• General council (rada walna) without the king present. That sejm would be convoked by the primate when the king could not attend and had no legislative powers. It was attended by deputies from the preceding sejm. Held three times (in 1576, 1710 and 1734).
• General sejmik held instead of a sejm
• Inquest, debating the case of royal impeachment. Two such sejms were held (in 1592 and 1646).
• Pacification, to quell a potential civil war after a disputed election, to pacify the opponents through political concessions. Five such sejms were held (in 1598, 1673, 1698, 1699 and 1735).