liberum veto

/lib"euhr euhm, lee"beuhr-/

a veto exercised by a single member of a legislative body whose rules require unanimity.

[1785-95; < L liberum, neut. of liber free]

* * *

▪ Polish government

      in Polish history, the legal right of each member of the Sejm (legislature) to defeat by his vote alone any measure under consideration or to dissolve the Sejm and nullify all acts passed during its session. Based on the assumption that all members of the Polish nobility were absolutely equal politically, the veto meant, in practice, that every bill introduced into the Sejm had to be passed unanimously. It was first used to dissolve a session of the Sejm in 1652. Subsequently, it was used extensively, often paralyzing the government, making a centralization of power (opposed by nobles jealous of their independence) impossible, and leaving Poland vulnerable to the influence of foreign powers, which habitually bribed delegates to the Sejm to force the adjournment of sessions that threatened to pass legislation contrary to their interests.

      Although King Stanisław II August Poniatowski (ruled 1764–95) attempted to make constitutional reforms, among them a limitation upon the right of liberum veto, he succeeded only in provoking a civil war and Russian military intervention (1767), which culminated in the First Partition of Poland (Poland, Partitions of) (1772). Only after Poland suffered these misfortunes did its political leaders adopt the Constitution of May 3, 1791, which abolished the liberum veto.

Additional Reading

Samuel Fiszman (ed.), Constitution and Reform in Eighteenth-Century Poland: The Constitution of 3 May 1791 (1997).

* * *