Pacta Conventa

Pacta conventa, Latin for articles of agreement, was a contractual agreement entered into between the szlachta, the nobility of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and a newly elected king upon his free election to the throne, a practice that ran from 1573 to 1764. Drafted by the convocation sejm, the legislative assembly that elected the king, each pacta conventa declared the specific policies the new king would pursue, covering matters such as foreign policy, state finances, the armed forces and public works, functioning much like a modern political platform and differing from king to king. Every king was also required to sign a separate document, the Henrician Articles, which set out a fixed set of privileges that did not change from reign to reign.