March Constitution (Poland) in the context of "Polish-Soviet War"

The szlachta (Polish pronunciation: [ˈʂlaxta] ; Lithuanian: šlėkta; lit. 'nobility') , the nobles, were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was the dominating social class in the Kingdom of Poland and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which was exercising political rights and power. Szlachta as a class differed substantially from the feudal nobility of Western Europe. The estate was officially abolished in 1921 by the March Constitution.

The origins of the szlachta are obscure and the subject of several theories. The szlachta secured substantial and increasing political power and rights throughout its history, beginning with the reign of King Casimir III the Great between 1333 and 1370 in the Kingdom of Poland until the decline and end of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the late 18th century. Apart from providing officers for the army, its chief civic obligations included electing the monarch and filling honorary and advisory roles at court that would later evolve into the upper legislative chamber, the Senate. The szlachta electorate also took part in the government of the Commonwealth via the lower legislative chamber of the Sejm (bicameral national parliament), composed of representatives elected at local sejmiks (local szlachta assemblies). Sejmiks performed various governmental functions at local levels, such as appointing officials and overseeing judicial and financial governance, including tax-raising. The szlachta assumed various governing positions, including voivode, marshal of voivodeship, castellan, and starosta.

The Small Constitution of 1947 (Polish: Mała Konstytucja z 1947) was a temporary constitution issued by the communist-dominated Sejm (Polish parliament) on 19 February 1947. It confirmed the practice of separation of powers and strengthened the Sejm. It was renewed in 1949, 1950, and 1951. It recognized some articles of the March Constitution of Poland (1921) and the PKWN Manifesto (1944), whereas the April Constitution of 1935 was not recognized. The Small Constitution was replaced in 1952 by the Constitution of the Polish People's Republic.

The April Constitution of Poland (Polish: Ustawa konstytucyjna 23 IV 1935 or Konstytucja kwietniowa) was the general law passed by the act of the Polish Sejm on 23 April 1935. It introduced in the Second Polish Republic an authoritarian presidential system that no longer operated on the basis of the functional separation of powers. The constitution was adopted in violation of the previous March Constitution of 1921 as well as the rules of procedure of parliament, which is why it was questioned by a significant part of the opposition to the Sanacja government.