Constitution of the Duchy of Warsaw

Napoleon issuing the Constitution of the Duchy of Warsaw by Marcello Bacciarelli

Constitutions of Poland
Nihil novi (1505) Henrician Articles (1573) May 3rd (1791) Duchy of Warsaw (1807) Kingdom of Poland (1815) Organic Statute (1832) Small (1919) March (1921) August Novelization (1926) April (1935) Small (1947) People's Republic (1952) April Novelization (1989) Small (1992) Current (1997)

Constitution of the Duchy of Warsaw was promulgated by Napoleon on 22 July 1807 in Dresden. Together with the Napoleonic Code it was a significant reform of the Polish law and government in the new Duchy of Warsaw. The constitution provided for a bicameral Sejm and for a Council of Ministers. The new laws abolished serfdom and legal distinction by social classes (nobility, peasantry, townsfolk) by introducing a principle that all people are equal before the law. Serfdom was abolished, and personal liberty guaranteed. Duchy of Warsaw was a satellite state of France, with no diplomacy of its own. King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony became duke of Poland, and had control over foreign policy; a French representative was to reside in Warsaw and had significant influence over Duchy government. The duchy's army was subordinate to the French Army. It was, nonetheless, considered a liberal constitution for its time.

External links

(German) Text of the Constitution
(Polish) Text of the Constitution

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