"Ci nawet sami, którzy stróżami praw są postanowieni, najpierwszymi zachowaczami onych być powinni". O praworządności w debacie i dziele reformatorskim Sejmu Wielkiego (1788-1792)

ENAlthough the theoretical assumptions of the concept of the rule of law have been developed in the continental tradition only in the 19th century, its systemic elements have their roots deep in history. In this contribution, the author analyses selected examples from the field of legislation and legal culture of the Great Sejm era (1788–1792). She focuses in particular on the problems of articulation and functioning of the supremacy of the constitution in the legal order and the innovative shaping of the responsibilities of key state authorities. These issues notably seem to reflect the suspension between the domestic heritage and the modernity of constitutionalism. At the same time, both cases prove that the ratio legis of these solutions was primarily of a practical, not conceptual nature.