Henrician Articles
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Henrician Articles, also known as Henrykian Articles (Polish Artykuły henrykowskie), contained the most important ideals of governance in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in form of 21 Articles written and voted for by the szlachta in 1573 during the times of interregnum in the town of Kamien near Warsaw. While pacta conventa contained only the personal vowes and promises of the king-elect, the Henrician Articles were a permanent statute that all king-elects had to swear to respect, from the times of first elected king, the Henry III of France. They stated that:
- kings of Commonwealth were to be chosen by election of all szlachta each time, never by the right of inheritance
- the king had to convine the Sejm (Polish parliament) at least as often as every two years for six week
- the king had no right to create new taxes, tarrifs and such without the approval of the Sejm
- the king had no right to call for the pospolite ruszenie without the approval of the Sejm
- the king had no right to declare war or peace without the approval of the Sejm
The Articles created a Council composed of 16 senators (also known as residents). The Council was elected every two years during the Sejm session. Four of them were obliged to accompany the king (they rotated every 6 months) and serve as both advisors and controllers to ensure that the king did not make decisions contrary to the law of the Commonwealth.
The Articles confirmed the informal tradition that the king could not call for pospolite ruszenie to serve outside of the Commonwealth boundaries for free and that he had to pay for the royal army (wojsko kwarciane).
The Articles included the Warsaw Confederation provisions, guaranteeing a religious freedom in Poland on an almost unprecedented scale in that era.
The Articles also had the list of official posts and titles in the Commonwealth.
Finally, if the monarch were to break the laws and privileges of the szlachta, the Articles gave the szlachta right to refuse the King's orders and act against him (official rebellion, called the rokosz).