Universal (act)

A Universal on Taxation of gristmills by Ivan Mazepa

Universal (Polish: Uniwersał; Lithuanian: Universalas; Ukrainian: Універсал) is a historic term that means an official proclamation or legal act. In several historic periods Universals were issued in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by the Polish, Lithuanian and later also by Ukrainian authorities. The name originates from Latin litterae universales, meaning universal publication directed to all. 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.