Guardians of the Laws or Guard of Laws ( pl, Straż Praw) was a short-lived supreme

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

governing body of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ru ...

established by the

Constitution of May 3, 1791 The Constitution of 3 May 1791,; lt, Gegužės trečiosios konstitucija titled the Governance Act, was a constitution adopted by the Great Sejm ("Four-Year Sejm", meeting in 1788–1792) for the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, a dual mo ...

. It was abolished, together with other reforms of the Constitution, after the Polish defeat in the summer of

Polish–Russian War of 1792 The Polish–Russian War of 1792 (also, War of the Second Partition, and in Polish sources, War in Defence of the Constitution ) was fought between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth on one side, and the Targowica Confederation (conservat ...

Executive power The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems b ...

in the reformed Commonwealth government, according to Article V and Article VII, rested in the hands of "the king in his council", the council being a

cabinet of ministers A cabinet is a body of high-ranking state officials, typically consisting of the executive branch's top leaders. Members of a cabinet are usually called cabinet ministers or secretaries. The function of a cabinet varies: in some countrie ...

known as the Guardians of the Laws. The ministries could not create or interpret the laws, and all acts of the foreign ministry were provisional, subject to parliament (

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland ( Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of ...

)'s approval. This council was presided over by the king and comprised the Roman Catholic

Primate of Poland This is a list of archbishops of the Archdiocese of Gniezno, who are simultaneously primates of Poland since 1418.Chancellor), minister of the seal of foreign affairs, minister ''belli'' (of war), and minister of treasury. In addition to the ministers, council members included – without a vote – the

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wi ...

, the

Marshal of the Sejm The Marshal of the Sejm , also known as Sejm Marshal, Chairman of the Sejm or Speaker of the Sejm ( pl, Marszałek Sejmu, ) is the speaker (chair) of the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish Parliament. The office traces its origins to the 15th ...

, and two secretaries. This royal council was a descendant of similar councils that had functioned over the previous two centuries since

King Henry's Articles The Henrician Articles or King Henry's Articles ( Polish: ''Artykuły henrykowskie'', Latin: ''Articuli Henriciani'') were a permanent contract between the "Polish nation" (the szlachta, or nobility, of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth) and a ...

(1573) and the recent Permanent Council. Acts of the king required the countersignature of the respective minister. The ministers, however, were responsible to Sejm, which could dismiss them by a two-thirds

vote of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

by the members of both houses. The stipulation that the king, "doing nothing of himself, ... shall be answerable for nothing to the nation", parallels the British constitutional principle that "The King can do no wrong." (In both countries, the respective minister was responsible for the king's acts.) Ministers could be also held accountable by the

Sejm court A sejm court was a Polish court that sat in cases of impeachment – in the words of the May 3 Constitution of 1791 (article VIII: the judicial authority) – of government " ministers ..charged with breach of law by a deputation designated to ...

, and Sejm could demand an

impeachement Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In E ...

trial of a minister with a simple majority vote. The decisions of the royal council were carried out by commissions, including the previously created

Commission of National Education The Commission of National Education ( pl, Komisja Edukacji Narodowej, KEN; lt, Edukacinė komisija) was the central educational authority in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, created by the Sejm and King Stanisław II August on October 1 ...

, and the new Commissions for Police, the Military and the Treasury, whose members were elected by

References

{{Reflist 1791 in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Political history of Poland Legal history of Poland