Ineffective general sejm in Warsaw 1597.

This sejm was convened in December 1596. The pre-sejm sejmiks were held in January of 1597. This sejm was convened on 10 February 1597. Piotr Myszkowski, starost [“starostwo” was a Polish term for eldership office] of Oświęcim, was elected marshal. The proceedings were influenced by the duplication of Volhynia and Sudova Vyshnia sejmiks. As a result twice as much deputies were elected, making it necessary to establish, which deputy’s mandates were valid, what ultimately led to breaking sejm sessions (case of Stanisław Stadnicki). The sessions were dominated by the matter whether the Commonwealth should have joint the anti-Turkish league, by the Cossack rebellions and undertaken counter-actions, as well as unrest, caused by proclaiming the Union at Brest. In this context, the judgement on Nikifor grew more and more important, as he was passing himself off as the envoy of the Patriarch of Constantinopole, tried to organise an Orthodox synod against the Union and who, in the same time, undertook hostile actions against the Commonwealth. The matters of the national defence and tax issues were also taken up. The deputies dealt with different options to reform the sejm itself, among others the indisputability of sejm resolutions principle, as well as execution of these resolutions.

See: I. Malec-Lewandowska, Sejm walny koronny Rzeczypospolitej i jego dorobek ustawodawczy 1587-1632 [The Crown general sejm of the Commonwealth and its legislative achievements, 1587-1632], Kraków 2009. J. Rzońca, Sejmy z lat 1597 i 1598, cz. I: Bezowocny sejm z 1597 roku [Sejms of years 1597 and 1598, part I: ineffective sejm in 1597 ], Warszawa 1989. W. Czapliński, Sejm w latach 1587-1696 [1587-1696 Sejm], in: Historia sejmu polskiego [The history of Polish sejm], t. 1, Warszawa 1984, red. J. Michalski, s. 217-299. E. Opaliński, Sejm srebrnego wieku 1587-1652. Między głosowaniem większościowym a liberum veto [Sejm of the Silver Age 1587-1652. Betwixt majority voting and liberum veto] , Warszawa 2001; I. Malec-Lewandowska, Sejm walny koronny Rzeczypospolitej i jego dorobek ustawodawczy 1587-1632 [The Crown general sejm of the Commonwealth and its legislative achievements, 1587-1632], Kraków 2009.