Public Administration and the Challenge to Introduce Egalitarian Legal Order: The Jewish policy of the Duchy of Warsaw (1807–1815)

The article discusses inconsistency existing in the Jewish policy of the Duchy of Warsaw, resulting from divergent normativities. Examined are the ways these normativities were handled, transformed, and conceptualised. The analysis refers to the concept of multinormativity and highlights the dynamics standing behind Jewish policy, as well as various influences on the way legal order was interpreted. Considered is the presence of legal assumptions derived from the normativities inherent in Old Polish traditions, being the main obstacle to the implementation of Napoleonic egalitarian norms. The article argues that equality claims and first attempts at their implementation existed alongside traditional ideas, social habits, and practices.