The Cardinal Laws (Polish: Prawa kardynalne) were a quasi-constitution enacted in Warsaw, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, by the Repnin Sejm of 1767–68. Enshrining most of the conservative laws responsible for the inefficient functioning of the Commonwealth, and passed under foreign duress, they have been seen rather negatively by historians.
In a more positive view, the cardinal laws can be seen as a form of constitution (Bardach uses the term ustawa zasadnicza), attempting to organize elements of the law of Poland, and also attempting to guarantee the stability of Commonwealth borders.[2]
Aftermath
In 1768 Russia issued a "guarantee" to the Polish nobility, promising to defend the cardinal laws, and at the Partition Sejm of 1775 this guarantee was joined by the Kingdom of Prussia and the Austrian Empire.[2][4]
^ abcdefJuliusz Bardach, Boguslaw Lesnodorski, and Michal Pietrzak, Historia panstwa i prawa polskiego (Warsaw: Paristwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1987, p.297-298