Universal (act)

Universal (Polish: Uniwersał; Lithuanian: Universalas; Ukrainian: Універсал) is a historic term that means an official proclamation or legal act.

The term was recently revived in modern Ukraine where the Universal of National Unity, a political multiparty agreement signed on 3 August 2006, ended a parliamentary crisis.

Universals could also be issued by high officials of the Commonwealth, like hetmans commanding military forces or voievodes overseeing a voivodeship.

These documents marked the main stages of the development of the nascent Ukrainian state, from the proclamation of its autonomy to the declaration of full independence.

After difficult and, at times, tense negotiations between the President and several political forces representing the Parliamentary factions, all sides eventually agreed to a powersharing compromise that led to an expanded governmental coalition and agreed to sign a compromise document titled a Universal of National Unity.