Деятельность депутатов Виленского сеймика в Главном трибунале Великого Княжества Литовского (1717-1792 гг.)

ENIn the system of inter-institutional communication district dietines of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (hereinafter – the GDL) maintained rather intensive contacts with the authorities of the GDL of parliamentary and judicial type. The Supreme Tribunal of the GDL became the principal public authority of the GDL in the 18th century which did not only perform judicial but also certain administrative and representative functions. The aim of this article is to determine the number and composition of deputies elected in the Vilnius dietine, to reveal their status and the specificity of activities at the Supreme Tribunal of the GDL during 1717–1792. Deputies elected in the Vilnius tribunal dietine were full deputies in 56 Supreme Tribunals of the GDL. 82 persons who represented the Vilnius dietine at the Supreme Tribunal of the GDL during the period 1717–1792 were identified. only 1 (1.2 percent) noble was elected to the tribunal 4 times; 3 (3.7 percent) nobles were elected 3 times; 20 (24.4 percent) nobles – 2 times; finally, the majority of them – 58 (70.7 percent) nobles – 1 time. After analysing in greater detail the families to which the deputies to the Supreme Tribunal of the GDL belonged, it becomes clear that 2 families, the Giedraitis and Tyzenhauzas families, each had a member elected as a deputy 6 times; 4 families, the Abramovičius, Čyžas, Marcinkevičius, and Tovianskis families, had their deputies elected 5 times, 5 families – 4 times, 5 families – 3 times and, finally, 8 families – 2 times. The number of families represented one time is fairly large and stands at 28.The analysis of positions revealed the dominance of lower-rank officials from the Vilnius district, whereas the chamberlain was the highest-ranking deputy who represented the Vilnius dietine. The analysis of tribunal activities of the deputies from the Vilnius dietine revealed that during the period under analysis they managed to become marshals of the Supreme Tribunal of the GDL 2 times (1.8 percent), vice marshals – 4 times (3.7 percent), treasurers – 7 times (6.4 percent), clerks – 15 times (13.8 percent), and held no or a far less significant position 81 times (74.3 percent). A possibility of giving a speech at the beginning or at the end of activities of the Supreme Tribunal of the GDL and to perform the functions of an acting marshal shows an exceptional and prestigious status of the Vilnius dietine deputies and leads to the conclusion that it was analogous to the status of envoys of the Diet (Sejm) of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.