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 June 2012 : Constitutional Court to rule on the Constitutional Amendment
Constitutional Court to rule on constitutional amendment On 1st June 2012, the Constitutional Court accepted petitions to judicial review the Constitutional amendment submitted by five groups including Senator Gen. Somjet Boontanom. The petitions asked whether the revision of Article 291, to establish a Constitutional Drafting Assembly of 77 elected and 22 appointed members, might lead to a revocation of the 2007 Constitutional and violate Section 68 of the Constitution. The Constitutional Court by 7 to 1 accepted the petitions and informed the House of Representatives to suspend its third reading, scheduled for 5th June, until the Court’s ruling. All parties involved including proposers of the Constitutional amendment, Phue Thai and Chart Thai Pattana Parties, were summoned to give evidence to the Court. This decision by the Constitutional Court has resulted in criticisms; some view it as judiciary interference with the legislative process. Pheu Thai Secretary-General, Jarupong Ruengsuwan, said that the petitions should have been submitted to the Attorney General, and not directly to the Court and since the petitions were also submitted to the Attorney General, who had not taken any action, the Constitutional Court’s preemptive decision was against the letter and the spirit of the law. Moreover, he said that in ordering a suspension of the third reading of the constitutional amendment, the Court was exceeding its power. Pheu Thai Party Spokesperson, Prompong Nopparit, said that the Court’s decision might be a violation of Section 157 of the Criminal Code (wrongful exercise of function by an official), so the judges may be liable to impeachment. On 7th June, a group of Red Shirts led by Mrs. Thida Tavornset, spent a night in front of Parliament in a campaign to impeach the Constitutional Court judges; Thida is expected to have 1 million signatures in support. Section 157 of the Criminal Code states, “ Whoever, being an official, wrongfully exercises or does not exercise any of his functions to the injury of any person, or dishonestly exercises or omits to exercise any of his functions, shall be punished with imprisonment of one to ten years or fined of two thousand to twenty thousand Baht, or both.” Former Phue Thai party leader, Chaturon Chaisang, stated that the Constitution Court’s decision is equivalent to a coup d' état by judicial review and that there were groups and political parties who wish to overthrow elected government. Following these criticisms, the Constitutional Court Spokesperson, Pimol Thampitakpong, announced that the Court has authority to accept the petitions. Under Section 68 of the Constitution, the Court is to guard against the type of government change not authorized by the Constitution. In any event the petitions are unrelated to the case of the dissolution of political parties. The Secretary-General of the Council of State, Achaporn Charuchinda, said that since the Constitutional amendment was accepted by Parliament, the matter belonged neither to the government nor to the Cabinet. On 5th June, the Attorney General Office Spokesman, Winai Damrongmongkolkul, said that the Attorney General would not interfere with the discretion of the Court. However, he will consider the petitions submitted to him. Secretary-General to the House of Representatives revealed the House Committee’s conclusion which was submitted to Parliament, that the Constitutional Court’s order is not binding on Parliament as it is not within Section 216. So it is the duty of the Speaker to decide whether or not to comply with the order of the Court. The President of the Constitutional Court, Wasant Soipisut, stated that the Court would not intervene if Parliament were to continue considering the constitutional amendment; that decision would be the responsibility of Parliament. On 7th June, the Attorney General resolved not to forward the petitions to the Constitution Court because a revision of Section 291 is not considered to be a violation of Section 68 of the Constitution. Reconciliation Bill 3rd reading suspended On 2nd June, the House Speaker suspended the third reading of the Reconciliation Bills, scheduled for 5th-7th June because many MPs were unable to attend Parliament. The People Alliance for Democracy had called for a protest in front of Parliament, so police set up roadblocks with the result that many people including MPs could not enter Parliament. Truth Committee’s resolutions for national crisis On 5th June, the Kanit Na Nakorn’s Truth and Reconciliation Committee published an open letter warning Thai society to unite before the current political rift becomes a national crisis. Six measures were recommended, they are:
NASA requested to use U-tapao The Foreign Minister, Surapong Tovichakchaikul, responded to queries about NASA’s request to use U-tapao airbase for atmospheric research in the Southeast Asia region. He explained that this came from an idea initiated during the Abhisit Vejjajiva Administration. He does not think that the operation concerns national security and it can contribute to international disaster relief. The Ministry has referred the US request to the Cabinet for approval since May. On 10th June, former Foreign Minister, Kasit Piromya, further clarified that Prime Minister Abhisit had proposed to the US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, and the UN Secretary-General during the World Food Program (WFP) meeting in Rome that U-tapao air base could be used as a humanitarian relief center. Later on, during the ASEAN Defense Ministers meeting, it was agreed that ASEAN countries would support the use of U-tapao in 3 civilian functions:
Kasit also said that humanitarian relief and NASA operations have different purposes. NASA operations could benefit 3 Ministries: Science, ICT and Natural Resources and Environment. There have also been queries as to whether the use of U-tapao by NASA would compromise Thailand’s neutrality between the two super powers, USA and China. Moreover, whether a foreign country’s use of land in Thailand is subject to parliamentary consent according to Section 190 of the Constitution. “….A treaty which provides for a change in the Thai territories or the Thai external territories that Thailand has sovereign right or jurisdiction over such territories under any treaty or an international law or requires the enactment of an Act for its implementation or affects immensely to economic or social security of the country or results in the binding of trade, investment budget of the country significantly must be approved by the National Assembly. Before the conclusion of a treaty with other countries or international organisations under paragraph two, the Council of Ministers must provide information thereon to the public, conduct public consultation and state information in relevant thereto to the National Assembly. In such case, the Council of Ministers must submit negotiation framework to the National Assembly for approval.” Finally, on 26th June, the Cabinet resolved to submit this matter to Parliament, but since Parliament is in recess 19th June-1st August, the US embassy in Bangkok announced that NASA has cancelled the program because it could not start at the scheduled time. EC disqualified MP Karun Hosakul On 20th June, the Election Commission decided by a majority vote to disqualify Karun "Keng" Hosakul, Pheu Thai MP for Bangkok’s constituency 12, for defaming Democrat candidate Tankhun Jitt-itsara during last year’s election campaign. The EC resolved to revoke Karun’s voting rights and to order a by-election in Don Muang. The commission will also ask that, if found guilty, Karun would be required to meet the cost of holding a new election. The Democrat candidate, Tankhun charged Karun with making four false accusations against him: 1) Karun accused Tankhun of changing his Chinese surname, causing his father to die of grief. 2) He accused him of being a photographic model for a pornographic magazine and a homosexual. 3) He alleged that the Democrats were paying people 300 baht each if they turned up to listen to their speeches during the campaign. 4) He claimed that Tankhun looked down on the people of Don Muang. Tankhun’s petition supporting his case included recordings of speeches made by Karun on 3rd and 12th June last year at the fresh food markets in Don Muang. The EC had submitted the case to the Supreme Court’s Election Cases Division for a final decision. If the Court accepts to hear the case, Karun must cease to perform all functions as an MP. Emergency Law re-extended in the South On 19th June, the Cabinet re-extended Emergency Law in southern provinces of Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat for another 3 months starting from 21st June to 19th September 2012. AG filed another lawsuit against Thaksin The Attorney General launched another lawsuit against former Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, former Krung Thai Bank (KTB) Managing Director, Viroj Nualkhair, and 26 others in fraudulent loan transactions. The case was submitted to the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions with an anti-graft report and other evidence. Earlier, the graft investigation found that funds from the alleged fraudulent loans had been routed through Thaksin’s son Panthongtae’s bank accounts. However, Panthongtae is not being charged because he was never an office holder and therefore, not under the Court’s fast track jurisdiction for graft offences. The case came to light after the 2006 coup government formed the Asset Examination Committee (AEC) to look into alleged graft violations involving Thaksin. One of the cases considered by the AEC involved a complaint filed by the Bank of Thailand against the KTB over three suspicious transactions. However, AEC’s mandate expired before the case reached trial, so the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) continued with it and found fraud. In June 2008 the NACC submitted the case for prosecution review. A joint panel of prosecutors and "graft busters" was set up to build the case and collect additional evidence. The central claim of the prosecution is that the then Prime Minister Thaksin abused his office to influence the bank’s decision to grant loans to real-estate developer Krisda Mahanakorn despite the company’s poor credit rating. The alleged fraudulent deals happened when Viroj Nualkhair, one of the key defendants, was the managing director of KTB. The deals allegedly involved a scheme to bypass the developer’s poor credit rating; it allowed KTB to grant loans to proxy companies who then channeled funds to Krisda Mahanakorn. The transactions were subsequently classified as non-performing loans. The list of defendants can be divided into three groups: Thaksin, as office holder exerting influence over the loans; Viroj and the bank’s board of directors; and three companies including Krisda Mahanakorn. The prosecution contends that the defaulted loans were graft violations due to adverse impacts on the state-run bank. The case will focus on three transactions. The first two were a Bt500-million loan granted to RK Professional Co Ltd and an Bt8-billion credit line extended to Golden Technology Industrial Park, which also NACC indicted Youngyuth in Alpine Golf case On 13th June, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) decided to launch criminal and disciplinary proceedings in connection with Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Yongyuth Wichaidit’s involvement in the Alpine land transaction in 2002. The NACC must refer the case to the Attorney General (AG) before criminal case can proceed. However, NACC member, Klanarong Chantik, said that the indictment would have no effect on Yongyuth’s current position, as the alleged crime was committed while he was Deputy Permanent-Secretary and Acting Permanent Secretary of Interior. In 2002 while Yongyuth was Deputy Permanent-Secretary and Acting Permanent Secretary of Interior, he approved the sale of land to Alpine - although the land was monastic land and could not be sold or transferred. The plot of land at issue in Pathum Thani - 927 rai in total - was given to the Thammikaram Temple by Nuam Chamnanchartsakda in her will in 1969. In 1990, the Mahamakut Buddhist University Foundation replaced the original executors of Nuam’s will. The land was then sold to the Alpine Real Estate and Alpine Golf and Sports Club, companies owned by family and friends of a veteran politician, Snoh Thienthong, who was Deputy Interior Minister in charge of the Land Department at that time. The land was developed into housing and the golf course later sold to former Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra. After several lawsuits amongst the various parties, the Council of State in 2001 declared that the land was monastic land and could not be sold or transferred. The transfer had to be revoked but the case against Snoh was dismissed in 2010 due to it being out of time. Bank account protection extended 3 years On 26th June, the Cabinet resolved to extend government protection of consumer bank accounts to a maximum of Bt. 50 million for another 3 years or until 11th August 2015. The maximum protection will be reduced to Bt. 25 million and Bt. 1 million in following years. Public debts rose to 42.40% GDP Public Debts Management Office announced that as of 30th April 2012, outstanding public debts have increased by Bt. 114 billion from last month to Bt. 4.61 trillion or equivalent to 42.40% of GDP. Bt. 3.41 trillion are government direct debts, Bt. 1.03 trillion non-finance state enterprises, Bt. 1.58 trillion financial state enterprises, and the balance of Bt. 7,080 million belong to other agencies. Private sector to build flood management facilities On 12th June, the Cabinet approved the Term of Reference inviting companies in the private sector to participate in the construction of flood management facilities, costing Bt. 305,888 million. Participants will have 3 months to submit proposals and the government will appoint a panel to recommend a shortlist of 3. The panel will consist of heads of relevant state agencies and other appropriate experts. It is expected that construction can begin in 2013. Qualified participants must have a track record of work worth minimum Bt. 30 billion in the last 10 years. Joint ventures can combine their records, but each piece of the combined work must be worth at least Bt. 2 billion. During 11th-14th June Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and the Water and Flood Management Board members visited construction sites in Pratumthani, Ayudhya , Singburi and Chainart provinces. The area had been designated for flood retention since there are many canals, waterway and dykes to divert water from the north and northeastern regions from Bangkok. These facilities are being repaired and upgraded according to the short-term implementation plan and construction is 60% completed. The plan is to:
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