The article touches upon several issues connected with the development of the bureaucratic system in the second half of the 18th century. Prior to the ascension of Stanisław August to the throne, there had been no administrative system based upon expert, professional clerical staff in the Polish Republic. Moreover, there had been no system of norms determining the legal status of civil servants, and the civil service corps had been extremely small in numbers. In the doctrine of those times, there was a radical push for the necessity of establishing modern state and local administration. Those postulates, put forward by scholars and political activists, met with favourable conditions. The process of modernisation of the administration was concluded with the reforms introduced by the Four-Year Sejm. Unfortunately, it had been impossible to create a fully modern bureaucratic system before the fall of the Polish Republic. It is possible, however, to trace back the process of its creation, manifesting itself in a significant increase in the number of civil servants (compared to the previous periods), establishing professional expertise as the basis for the administrative process, and the introduction of payment for services rendered by the civil servants.
The Standing Council (Rada Nieustająca) was appointed at the session of the Sejm in 1775 as a collegiate governmental body. The procedure of election of new members of the Council started with the selection of candidates from among people meeting one of the conditions defined in the Constitution on the Appointment of the Standing Council. The elections proper, held by secret ballot, followed a day after the list of candidates was presented to the senators and members of the parliament. The conditions for the validity of the vote were defined in the Constitution of 1775. Senators and MPs embarked on the elections in a specified order, especially important in the case of the senators. It was defined by the Constitution of 1768. A committee was appointed for the counting of the votes; membership in the committee i.e. appointment to a scrutineer (egzaminator) was considered highly prestigious.
DE
Der Ständige Rat wurde vom Sejm 1775 als ein kollegiales Regierungsorgan bestellt. Das Verfahren für die Wahl seiner Mitglieder begann mit dem Aufstellen der Kandidaten, die eine der in der Konstitution über die Bestellung des Ständigen Rates erwähnten Bedingungen erfüllten. Der eigentliche (geheime) Wahlakt fand an dem der Überreichung der Kandidatenliste an die Senatoren folgendem Tag statt. Die Bedingungen für die Gültigkeit der Stimmen wurden in der Konstitution von 1775 festgelegt. Die Senatoren und die Sejm-Abgeordneten traten zum Wahlakt in bestimmter Reihenfolge heran, die insbesondere in Bezug auf die Senatoren bedeutend war. Diese wurde von der Konstitution von 1768 festgelegt. Es wurde auch ein Wahlausschuss berufen. Die Mitgliedschaft in diesem Ausschuss, also die Rolle des sog. Examinator, wurde sehr hoch angesehen.
1.The legal grounds for the functioning of the Council of Ministers. 2. Decrees of 26th May 1812. 3. Publication of the resolutions of the Council of Ministers issued on the basis of powers of attorney extraordinary. 4.Conflict with the Council of State. 5. Resolutions of the Council of Ministers passed through the powers of attorney extraordinary.
PL
1. Prawne podstawy funkcjonowania Rady Ministrów 2. Dekrety z 26 maja 1812 r. 3. Publikowanie uchwał Rady Ministrów wydawanych na podstawie nadzwyczajnych pełnomocnictw. 4. Konflikt z Radą Stanu. 5. Uchwały Rady Ministrów podejmowane w ramach nadzwyczajnych pełnomocnictw.
DE
1. Rechtliche Grundlagen des Ministerrates. 2. Dekrete vom 26. Mai 1812. 3. Verkündung der aufgrund der Sondervollmächte erlassenen Beschlüsse des Ministerrates. 4. Konflikt mit dem Staatsrat. 5. Beschlüsse des Ministerrates gefasst im Rahmen der Sondervollmächte.
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