Court puts charter changes on hold

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- The Constitution Court yesterday decided to accept for judicial review petitions by five separate groups of people seeking a ruling on whether the government-sponsored charter-amendment drafts are constitutional.

The decision is likely to result in a postponement of the third and final reading of the amendments scheduled for next Tuesday(June 5). Pheu Thai MP Samart Kaewmeechai, who heads the vetting committee for the constitutional amendments, said after learning about the court decision that the joint session of the two Houses on Tuesday would instead deliberate other bills on that day.

Constitution Court spokesman Pimol Thammapitakpong said the court had informed the secretary-general of the House of Representatives about the decision, adding that it was up to the House whether to postpone the reading.

"According to the law, there is no penalty if Parliament continues with the third reading. However, such a move may be indicative of the actual intention on the part of the accused," he said.

When asked whether the court's quick decision to accept the petitions had anything to do with the increasingly tense political situation, Pimol said the judges resolved that the case required urgent attention to ease the situation.

Five groups of people, whose members include Senator Somjet Boonthanom, opposition Democrat MP Wirut Kalayasiri, lawyer Warin Thiemcharas and yellow-shirt leader Boworn Yasunthorn, had submitted five separate petitions to the Constitution Court. They accused the proponents of the three government-sponsored charter-amendment bills of attempting to overthrow the country's constitutional monarchy and seize political power through unconstitutional means.

The court scheduled July 5 and 6 to hear from the accusers and the accused in the first trial. It also asked the accused - the Cabinet, the Parliament, Pheu Thai, Chart Thai Pattana, and certain MPs from both parties - to submit their explanation in writing to the court within 15 days, according to the spokesman.

He explained that the court accepted the petitions for judicial review even though the accusers filed their petitions directly to the court, instead of through an independent organisation, as required by Article 212. The spokesman said that in this case, Article 68 was applied.

Article 68 states: "No person shall exercise the rights and liberties prescribed in the Constitution to overthrow the democratic regime of government with the King as head of the state or to acquire the power to rule the country by any means that is not in accordance with the modes provided in this Constitution. In the case where a person or a political party has committed the act under Paragraph 1, the person knowing of such act shall have the right to request the Prosecutor-General to investigate its facts and submit a motion to the Constitution Court for ordering cessation of such act."

The spokesman said the court would rule whether the constitutional amendments were against the Constitution.

Meanwhile, Pheu Thai MP and red-shirt leader Kokaew Pikulthong said yesterday that he believed the Constitution Court did not have the power to accept the petitions for judicial review, adding that the decision may have been the result of the influence of unnamed "elites".

-- The Nation 2012-06-02

interesting to see the trend of judicial activism...

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09512748.2010.521253

Quote:

"Meanwhile, Pheu Thai MP and red-shirt leader Kokaew Pikulthong said yesterday that he believed the Constitution Court did not have the power to accept the petitions for judicial review, adding that the decision may have been the result of the influence of unnamed "elites"."

Could also be just people who care?

It would seem as if the true motives of the proponents of this bill have been seen through and that the usurping of common law for the benefit of a convicted criminal and escapee along with other members of his clique have for the time being been thwarted.

This action is the lifebelt that the people needed to stop the destruction of their basic legal rights and the legalization of criminal activities by the ruling bodies that would come to power in the event of this proposed charter change coming into force.

Let us now hope that common sense will prevail and that the motives and aims of one person, his family to destroy this country in their revenge driven tactics will be seen for what it is.The installation of a family dynasty akin to that In North Korea..

wow, post #5 and we're already to North Korea.

Fast reactions - or maybe just fast reactionaries.

Calm down a bit guys. This isn't N Korea.

Fast reactions - or maybe just fast reactionaries.

Some of us have been here for many years ,(21 + in my case) and we have seen the antics, the posturing and the ego trips and fanciful dreams that Thaksin has, however those dreams would become nightmares for the Thai people.

His comment when first brought into a governmental position concerning his plan to have helicopters hovering above strategic junctions to remove failed vehicles, the comments that all traffic problems will be resolved in 6 months..?

Remember the comments from Thaksin concerning the Japanese Gold farce and how he would clear the country's debts and enrich the people, The United Nations is not my father?

The list is endless, the Tak Bai incident, The War on Drugs, the claimed assassination attempt when the plane exploded due to a design fault as proved by the makers, the assassination attempt whilst traveling in his car all delusional matters . The mental ramblings and the actions of a megalomaniac.

Thaksin is the driving force behind this proposed constitution change the return of the money he misappropriated along with unlimited power is along with his desire for revenge at any cost the engine driving this matter.

This bill along with the family and their clique that are sponsoring it must be stopped...

So what has the picture of bloke posting a letter at the post office got to do with this story???

interesting to see the trend of judicial activism...

http://www.tandfonli...748.2010.521253

Another monster created by Thaksin that he thought he would be able to control has slipped its leash and now is biting his butt. Gone are the days when he was allowed to get away with blatant irregularities and actual crimes. The toothless tiger has grown both teeth and balls.

I am waiting for the decisions of the CC to be handed down re the blatant use of banned politicians in the last election, and the selection of persons facing serious criminal charges as party list MPs. Tom's linked paper noting the political influence of the courts fails to mention that their would be far less court activity if there were a lot less criminals in Thai politics.

interesting to see the trend of judicial activism...

http://www.tandfonli...748.2010.521253

Yes it is and for some it is something to be denied especially on this forum. Hirschl's ‘hegemonic preservation thesis’ whilst full of academic speak sums it all up, stop rocking the boat, keep the status quo or else..............

Yes keep the status quo let Big T and his underlings do as they want with no review. I guess a few of our posters are happy with criminals going scott free and I also include the yellow shirts and there antics in this..

interesting to see the trend of judicial activism...

http://www.tandfonli...748.2010.521253

Yes it is and for some it is something to be denied especially on this forum. Hirschl's ‘hegemonic preservation thesis’ whilst full of academic speak sums it all up, stop rocking the boat, keep the status quo or else..............

Ask your self, is this reconciliation bill something that will be enshrined behind glass and held as a monument to freedom justice and peace. You wouldn't like one thing about this bill if it was coming from the democrats, aimed at Thaksin. Laws are supposed to apply to all the people.

House Speaker cancels session on reconciliation bills, charter amendment

BANGKOK, June 2 - House Speaker Somsak Kiatsuranont on Saturday decided to cancel next week's parliamentary sessions regarding charter amendment and national reconciliation bills following recent chaos and disruption in the parliament.

Deputy House Speaker Charoen Chankomol said Mr Somsak decided to suspend the planned meeting on June 5 to deliberate the charter amendment and the June 6-7 sessions on the proposed reconciliation bills.

Mr Charoen said the House Speaker will call a meeting of representatives from both the government and opposition next Tuesday to find solutions, and if there is still problem with the deliberation of the reconciliation bills, other pending bills may be raised for consideration instead.

On June 5, the House was scheduled to vote on the third reading of the draft constitution amendment and consider the international cooperation frameworks under Article 190 of the constitution which stipulate that before signing any international treaties and agreements, they must first be approved by parliament.

But the vote on the third reading of the draft charter amendment could not proceed because the Constitution Court agreed to consider the legality of the draft constitutional amendment and issue an injunction to suspend the process until a court ruling, as it accepted five petitions lodged by a group of Senators and Democrat MPs challenging the legality of the draft.

The House Speaker earlier cancelled the reconciliation bills debate on Friday as yellow shirt activists of the people's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) and protesters blocked lawmakers access to parliament but were set to reconvene the House of Representatives on Wednesday and Thursday (June 6-7) to consider the reconciliation bills.

Meanwhile, Pheu Thai Party spokesman Prompong Nopparit said the decision of the House Speaker could help reduce tension on the issues.

He said whether or not the deliberation of reconciliation bills can proceed soon is not a problem and the party will assign MPs to create better understanding on the bills to the public, as the drafted bills have nothing to do with returning Bt46 billion in seized assets to ousted ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra as worried. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2012-06-02

Result! Yellows 1 - Reds 1 now just keep the pressure on this proposterous bill.

Whilst I can kind of understand some people on here supporting the Red faction, it is totally beyond me how any educated Western person reading the wording on the Antithesis of Reconciliation Bill could possibly argue that it was a good, legal, beneficial thing for any country at all. The mind boggles it truly does.

interesting to see the trend of judicial activism...

http://www.tandfonli...748.2010.521253

Interesting to see a criminal cabal administering a nation and some people's opposition to courts providing a check on their actions.

interesting to see the trend of judicial activism...

http://www.tandfonli...748.2010.521253

A report from November 2010 in a two-monthly journal. Surely things have changed and hopefully improved with a general election in July 2011 and lots of people fighting for democracy

Pheu Thai Party spokesman Prompong Nopparit said whether or not the deliberation of reconciliation bills can proceed soon is not a problem and the party will assign MPs to create better understanding on the bills to the public, as the drafted bills have nothing to do with returning Bt46 billion in seized assets to ousted ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra as worried. (MCOT online news)

A bit of obfuscation from our spokesman. Personally I doubt that a possible return of money to k. Thaksin is any issue here. The issue is amnesty for all people who's name is k. Thaksin

Pheu Thai Party spokesman Prompong Nopparit said whether or not the deliberation of reconciliation bills can proceed soon is not a problem and the party will assign MPs to create better understanding on the bills to the public, as the drafted bills have nothing to do with returning Bt46 billion in seized assets to ousted ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra as worried. (MCOT online news)

A bit of obfuscation from our spokesman. Personally I doubt that a possible return of money to k. Thaksin is any issue here. The issue is amnesty for all people who's name is k. Thaksin

......and Jatuporn, and Arisman and ..................

So what has the picture of bloke posting a letter at the post office got to do with this story???

It's not a Post Office dummy.

Its the admin reception for the CC

interesting to see the trend of judicial activism...

http://www.tandfonli...748.2010.521253

If you change court verdicts in parliament, for brother on the run, it is no surprise that the constitution court worries if that is compatible with the constitution and democracy.

wow, post #5 and we're already to North Korea.

Fast reactions - or maybe just fast reactionaries.

Calm down a bit guys. This isn't N Korea.

No it is not and never will be.

that being said given Thaksins way the government will be that way.

interesting to see the trend of judicial activism...

http://www.tandfonli...748.2010.521253

Yes it is and for some it is something to be denied especially on this forum. Hirschl's ‘hegemonic preservation thesis’ whilst full of academic speak sums it all up, stop rocking the boat, keep the status quo or else..............

I do believe that if the Government had been doing their job

instead of focusing on one man the status quo would have been exceptable,

interesting to see the trend of judicial activism...

http://www.tandfonli...748.2010.521253

A report from November 2010 in a two-monthly journal. Surely things have changed and hopefully improved with a general election in July 2011 and lots of people fighting for democracy

surely you read the paper which provides a 13 year history of the constitutional court and judicial activity in Thai politics. That seemed like a solid foundation in which to consider the current news article being discussed. you can do better than come up with a "confused smiley", can't you?

interesting to see the trend of judicial activism...

http://www.tandfonli...748.2010.521253

If you change court verdicts in parliament, for brother on the run, it is no surprise that the constitution court worries if that is compatible with the constitution and democracy.

understanding the political nature of the verdicts to be addressed seems like a good place to begin the discussion. In this case, you have the courts again intervening to stop an elected government for undoing the actions of a politically motivated judicial system which has repeated undone governments and political parties.

This is not about protecting the constitution, this is a turf-battle.

interesting to see the trend of judicial activism...

http://www.tandfonli...748.2010.521253

Interesting to see a criminal cabal administering a nation and some people's opposition to courts providing a check on their actions.

read the article.

The courts are not a check on anything, the courts are an active player, and a politicized active player.

interesting to see the trend of judicial activism...

http://www.tandfonli...748.2010.521253

Another monster created by Thaksin that he thought he would be able to control has slipped its leash and now is biting his butt. Gone are the days when he was allowed to get away with blatant irregularities and actual crimes. The toothless tiger has grown both teeth and balls.

I am waiting for the decisions of the CC to be handed down re the blatant use of banned politicians in the last election, and the selection of persons facing serious criminal charges as party list MPs. Tom's linked paper noting the political influence of the courts fails to mention that their would be far less court activity if there were a lot less criminals in Thai politics.

ah, another post where you did not read (or not understand) before writing.

interesting to see the trend of judicial activism...

http://www.tandfonli...748.2010.521253

Interesting to see a criminal cabal administering a nation and some people's opposition to courts providing a check on their actions.

read the article.

The courts are not a check on anything, the courts are an active player, and a politicized active player.

Blah blah blah.

You agree with what Thaksin and his band are trying to do?

Sent from my dog.

I am certainly no fan of the current version of the misnamed Reconciliation Bill, but how can the court stop a bill before it has even been voted on? Don't laws have to be enacted before they can be challenged and overturned?

While I am largely sympathetic to the concept of containing Thaksin's power and influence, I do find this action by the court to be disturbingly beyond their normal role.

interesting to see the trend of judicial activism...

http://www.tandfonli...748.2010.521253

Interesting to see a criminal cabal administering a nation and some people's opposition to courts providing a check on their actions.

read the article.

The courts are not a check on anything, the courts are an active player, and a politicized active player.

Seems that Isaan Fever's still got a grip on you. It will pass one day and the scales will fall from your eyes.

I am certainly no fan of the current version of the misnamed Reconciliation Bill, but how can the court stop a bill before it has even been voted on? Don't laws have to be enacted before they can be challenged and overturned?

While I am largely sympathetic to the concept of containing Thaksin's power and influence, I do find this action by the court to be disturbingly beyond their normal role.

It hasn't been indefinitely stopped. If it passes judicial review it will continue to proceed. Considering all the friction the bill is causing, seems sensible to check this legal stuff before rather than after, doesn't it?