Perpetual Capitulation of the Empire of the German Nation

We, Friedrich Quartus, by the grace of God, elected Emperor of the German Nation, publicly confer with this letter and make it known to everyone that after the temporal demise of the recent elected Roman Emperor Karl Salvator, of the most blessed and glorious memory of Christ etc. and the end of the late interregnum, we, by the will of the Almighty through the regular election of the Most Illuminated and Revered Archchancellor and Prince-Archbishop [idk]of Regensburg, Duke [idk]of Bavaria, Duke [idk]of Bohemia, Duke Georg Sextus of Brunswick–Lüneburg, Duke [idk]of Friedberg-Scheer-Sigmaringen, Duke [idk]of Hesse-Darmstadt, Duke [idk]of Hesse-Kassel, Duke [idk]of Mark, Duke [idk]of Orange-Nassau-Fulda, Duke [idk]of Saxony, Duke [idk]of Westphalia, Duke [idk]of Wurttemberg, the respected Archstewards, Archmarshals, Archchamberlains, and Archtreasurers, and the most excellent Reichspräsidium to the honor and dignity of the Emperor of the German Nation. Having been raised, elevated, and established to this name and power, we also, to the praise of God, to the honor of the Holy Empire, and of Christendom and the German nation, and also for the common good, burden us, that we ourselves, and all our successors, therefore, out of our free and gracious will, with the same, our dear electors before them and all the princes and estates of the Empire of the German Nation, have united, compared, accepted and promised the terms and pacts of these according to the following articles, all knowingly and in force of this letter.

For the preservation of old German liberties, We declare and We bind all Princes and Estates of the Empire of the German Nation also:

Firstly, We recognize that Germany is a part of Christendom, and therefore, that this office and government is Christian, and we should keep the Christian Churches in good protection and shelter; but that all subjects of the Empire are free to practice their religion in peace, within or without Christianity. And We will never require our subjects to disclose their religion, nor will We ever discriminate between them based on religious confession.

And secondly, We should plant, establish and manage peace, law and unity, so that all people can achieve their due course for the poor and the rich without distinction of persons, status, rank and religion and therefore, we shall never deny or delay access to the Imperial Courts to any subject of the Empire of the German Nation.

And thirdly, We will never make a duty, tariff, or excise tax, or otherwise erect a barrier to any trade whatsoever within the borders of Germany, and We will never restrict Germans from one section of the Empire from owning land in another section of the Empire.

And fourthly, We assure to all our subjects that we will never make laws to suppress speech by censorship, licensing, restriction on printing houses, or postal prohibitions, and We will only make restrictions after publication, for defamation and calls to violate the law.

And fifthly, We assure to all our subjects that their state will grant to them a constitution, in which every subject over the age of twenty-one will elect representatives whose consent will be required for laws, which no ruler may revoke without their consent.

So that We, the Emperor may more truly guarantee the law and unity of Germany, We declare:

Firstly, We recognize that We, the Emperor are endowed with the executive power of the German nation, and We shall use it with only the highest responsibility.

And secondly, We declare that upon the death of an Emperor and not before, the Dukes of Saxony and Bavaria shall serve as vicars for the interregnum and they shall assemble the Kurfürstenkollegium in Frankfurt, and whichever candidate should receive a majority of votes certified by the Prince-Archbishop of Regensburg shall, upon swearing to abide by this Capitulation, become elected Emperor of the German Nation.

And thirdly, We will only make public acts with the assent of the Reichspräsidium, which shall consist of two members per circle and the Prince of Thurn and Taxis, and We permit the subjects of the Empire to hold members of our Präsidium responsible for our public acts.

So that the German people will have a share in government, We declare:

Firstly, We recognize that no law is superior to the truest German law, ratified by the Reichstag, and no law may override it unless ratified by the Reichstag. And We will never claim custody over such a power, or else encroach on the powers of the Reichstag.

And secondly, We declare that the Reichstag consists of four kollegia; the Kurfürstenkollegium, the Reichsweltlichekollegium, the Reichsgeistlichekollegium, and the Reichshandelskollegium. And we declare that the Kurfürstenkollegium shall consist of the Prince-Archbishop of Regensburg, the Archduke of Austria, the Duke of Bavaria, the Duke of Bohemia, the Duke of Brunswick–Lüneburg, the Duke of Friedberg-Scheer-Sigmaringen, the Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt, the Duke of Hesse-Kassel, the Duke of Mark, the Duke of Orange-Nassau-Fulda, the Duke of Saxony, the Duke of Westphalia, and the Duke of Wurttemberg; the Reichsweltlichekollegium shall consist of all the immediate rulers of the Empire with votes allocated by land; the Reichsgeistlichekollegium shall consist of the bishops and delegates of the Roman Catholic, Independent Catholic, and Evangelical religions; and the Reichshandelskollegium shall consist of deputies of the states of the Empire, elected by all subjects over the age of twenty-one of the state thereof, and allocated on the basis of the whole population of the Empire.

And thirdly, We will never agree to the ratification of a law of the Reichstag without the concurrent agreement of the Reichsweltlichekollegium and the Reichshandelskollegium, and We will never agree to the ratification of a law affecting the regulation of religion practice without the additional concurrence of the Reichsgeistlichekollegium, by the triple agreement of its corpora romanorum, independentorum, and evangelicorum, and We will never agree to the ratification of a law if one third of the Reichshandelskollegium should state the proposed law violates the German Liberties and the Reichskammergericht should concur.

And fourthly, We will never ask the Reichstag for levies of money that will terminate longer than one year, and we will only ever ask for levies of money from the Reichstag by sending Commissioners to the Reichshandelskollegium for a relevant inquest.

And fifthly, We will only issue a Reichsexekution against the state of the Empire with the concurrence of the Reichstag and the order of the Reichskammergericht.

And sixthly, We will never go to war without the concurrence of the Reichstag.

And seventhly, We assure our subjects that we will always and call for new deputies to fill our Reichshandelskollegium, no more than five years after the last call.

And eighthly, We continue to recognize that our Reichstag sits in continuous session in the city of Regensburg, unless it should, in cases of emergency, decide to disembark for elsewhere.

So that justice is preserved forever, We declare and We bind all Princes and Estates of the Empire of the German Nation also:

Firstly, We will never interfere with the conduct of the Reichskammergericht and other courts of the judiciary, and We will protect its proceedings with all our power.

And secondly, We will only appoint judges to the Reichskammergericht and other courts of the judiciary, with the concurrence of the Reichshandelskollegium, and We will never remove judges without the concurrence of three-fifths the same.

And thirdly, We will establish a system of chamber courts along the Imperial Circles, and We will refer to it all cases of first instance, and every case from the state in the Circle where a party should request further review.

And fourthly, We confirm the Reichskammergericht shall be the final court of appeals for all cases in the Empire, except for such cases that, by law of the Reichstag, should go to the International Tribunal, and We will refer to it all cases stemming from the Reichstag, or dealing with a Minister Plenipotentiary.

And fifthly, for every court in the Empire, We will establish, or cause to be established, a council of schöffen, selected by lot from a list of subjects which should have the public trust, which shall have power to investigate proceedings and question the accused, and upon the conclusion of the case it shall issue a report on its conclusions.

So that the Army may be organized in defence of the Empire and her liberties, We declare and We bind all Princes and Estates of the Empire of the German Empire also:

Firstly, We declare that We, the Emperor, shall continue to serve as the head of the Army, but henceforth, We shall appoint, with the concurrence of the Reichstag, a Field Marshal to head the Army in the field, and We shall never issue orders without the concurrence of the Field Marshal.

And secondly, We declare that every ruler of a state shall serve as General of the regiments which the Reichstag shall convene, and they shall equip their regiments, as the Reichstag and Field Marshal shall require, from money levied from the Empire as a whole, and We declare that every ruler shall be required to maintain public order within the Empire with their regiments, in their capacity as General, but that no General shall ever defy the commands of the Army, nor deploy their regiments outside their state without the concurrence of the Head of the Army.

And thirdly, We will never deploy the Army against a state of the Empire without a Reichsexekution and the concurrence of the Reichstag, and We shall never deploy the Army outside the Empire without the concurrence of the Reichstag.

And fourthly, We will never allow establish, nor allow to be established, any army within or without the Empire which shall have an existence separate to the above-mentioned Army of the Empire.

All this and everything, as stated above, We, the above-mentioned Emperor of the German Nation, have spoken and promised to the above-mentioned Electors before him and in the name of the Empire, and have assured them with our royal honors, dignity and words, in the name of truth, and we do the same hereby and in the power of this letter, inasmuch as we have sworn with a physical oath to God and the Holy Gospel to keep it constantly, firmly and unbroken, to faithfully comply with it, and not to be, do or create anything contrary to it, in any way or manner as it may be devised, nor shall any expedience or exception, dispensation of absolution, spiritual or secular rights, whatever the name, be granted to us.

To this end, we have issued thirteen of these letters in the same wording and have confirmed them with our seal, which is given in our and the Empire's city of Frankfurt on the eighteenth day of July after the birth of Christ our dear Lord and Savior in the nineteenth and forty-ninth year.