Constitution Court May Ditch Yet Another Thai Democrat Case

[webfact]

DEMOCRAT PARTY

Constitution court may ditch yet another Democrat case

By Somroutai Sapsomboon

Kornchanok Raksaseri

The Nation

Party can only be fined a maximum of Bt100,000 according to law

Even if the Democrat Party is found guilty in the Bt258-million scandal, it will only face a maximum penalty of Bt100,000 and not dissolution.

The earlier party dissolution case related to a Bt29-million scandal has been dropped, and some people believe the second case might also be ditched.

The strongest argument behind the dismissal of the Bt29-million was that the political party registrar had not voiced his opinion before putting the issue forward at the EC meeting on April 12. All legal proceedings after that happened in the wrong order. Political registrar and EC chairman Apichart Sukhag-ganond only told the meeting that the party might or might not have violated Article 94 of the 2007 Political Party Act.

Just like he did previously, Democrat lawyer Bundit Siripant will argue about legal proceedings going in the wrong order again.

Should the court decide to continue with this case, witnesses may not be called because they testified in the earlier case. And some EC members and Democrat lawyers agree with this line of thought.

The EC filed the Bt258-million case in the Constitution Court through the Office of the Attorney-General. In the case, the Democrat Party is accused of receiving Bt258 million from TPI Polene through Messiah Business and Creation, possibly in an attempt to avoid reporting to the EC as required by law. Both TPI Polene and Democrat Party had earlier hired Messiah to produce advertising boards.

This action can be considered as having violated Article 66 of the 1998 Political Party Act or Article 94 of the 2007 version of the law. According to the articles, a party can be dissolved for conduct considered hostile to democracy under a constitutional monarchy, a threat to national security, peace and order or people's morality. Political parties are also prohibited from accepting donations of a suspicious or possibly illegal nature.

In principle, the Constitution Court should only be considering this case once the Criminal Court has ruled on it. However, since the Criminal Court has not yet ruled on it, chances are the Constitution Court will not do so either.

The Democrat legal team once said: "We are accused of possessing an illegal item. The item has not been proven illegal, so how can we be accused of possessing it?"

If the party has to be punished, it would have to be for the violation of Article 48 of the 1998 Political Party Act or Article 62 of the 2007 version, because it failed to report the donation to the political party registrar. According to Article 127 of the 2007 Act, the maximum penalty for this is a Bt100,000 fine.

Former charter drafter Kaewsan Atibodhi also pointed out that the Democrat Party did not face dissolution in relation to this case. In an article for the Thai Post, Kaewsan wrote: "It's true that the law prohibits political parties from receiving secret donations. But, only the wrongdoers would face criminal penalties. There is no party dissolution penalty for this violation. It is only a criminal case that should be filed with the Criminal Court. The EC has nothing to do with it. Why was [this case] filed with the Constitution Court?" If it is proved that the party did get the money, it can only be dissolved if TPI is a foreign firm, or if the party had extorted the money in exchange for some benefits, Kaewsan wrote.

-- The Nation 2010-12-03

[whybother]

Another case of double standards?

I hate these situations where the Democrats don't break laws that require party disbanding, but still don't get disbanded. Where's the justice?

Edited December 3, 2010 by whybother

[Thailand]

TIT

[Pib]

The Democrats are definitely in power--they rule!!!

[webfact]

First hearing on Thursday for second Democrat dissolution case

By The Nation

The Constitution Court will on Thursday convene a first hearing on the second Democrat dissolution case and the prosecution and the defence must be present at the session, judge Charan Pakdithanakul said on Friday.

The Democrats are accused of failing to report the Bt258 million fund received from TPI Polene and involving in a bogus deal to launder the money under the pretext of campaign contribution.

This is a second case which the prosecution is trying to disband the party. The first case related to alleged misuse of Bt29 million state fund was dismissed on Monday on ground of legal technicality.

The Office of the Attorney General represents the prosecution on the Election Commission's behalf.

Charan said the case was lodged since July 13, therefore the high court already had sufficient time to vet pertinent documents and prepare for the first hearing.

"Thursday at 10.00 am will officially activate the judicial review against the Democrats," he said.

Commenting on the case, EC member Sodsri Satayatham said she believed the high court might waver the hearing of witnesses because all testimonies were presented in connection with the inquiry on the first case.

Prosecutors said, however, they might seek to present additional evidence, such as a written statement by the party registrar ordering the party disbandment on suspicion of foul play.

The dismissal of the first case was based on the unlawful petition on party disbandment because the party registrar had not rendered his judgement on the charge before forwarding the case for judicial review.

-- The Nation 2010-12-03

[SomTumTiger]

The Democrats are definitely in power--they rule!!!

They certainly do not call all the shots, but compared to the alternatives for PM and party. they are the only reasonable choice.

[givenall]

Another case of double standards?

I hate these situations where the Democrats don't break laws that require party disbanding, but still don't get disbanded. Where's the justice?

Wake up and smell the Roses. :whistling: After all this is Thailand :lol:

[OzMick]

Another disappointment for the Reds - they should be getting used to it by now. When do the criminal cases, Jatuporn et al, kick off?

Edited December 3, 2010 by OzMick

[webfact]

Democrats Petitioned Constitution Court to Dismiss the Bt258 Mln Dissolution Case

The Democrat Party has filed a petition for the Constitution Court to dismiss the dissolution case involving the unlawful Bt258 million donations from TPI Polene in 2005.

The court had earlier dismissed a dissolution case against the Democrats on Monday after the Election Commission failed to submit the case within the 15-day deadline.

The Democrats was accused of misusing the 29 million baht from the Election Commission's political party development fund.

-- Tan Network 2010-12-03