Civil Court refuses to issue injunction to suspend state of emergency

[webfact]

Civil Court refuses to issue injunction to suspend state of emergency
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Civil Court Friday refused to issue an injunction to suspend the state of emergency pending a judicial review of the case against the emergency announcement.

The court reasoned that the situation did not warrant an injunction as requested by Taworn Senneam, a leader of the People's Democratic Reform Committeee.

Taworn filed the suit with the court, alleging that the government had unlawfully declared the state of emergency.

Taworn asked the court to issue an injunction to suspend the state of emergency to protect protesters while the case has not been finalised yet. But the court decided Friday that the government did not indicate that it would crack down on protesters.

The court will hold the first hearing of the case on February 6.


-- The Nation 2014-01-31

[thesetat2013]

I think everybody will postpone any serious decision making until the outcome from the elections is known. Nobody wants to bite the hand that feeds them.

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[zaphodbeeblebrox]

This is no surprise. The standard for injunctive relief in Thailand is extremely high. I can't see how they could justify the remedy. A better attack on the SOE would have been with the Constitutional Court, but the SOE will probably expire before the case would even be heard.

[wellwell]

They must be pretty confident of no crackdown against protesters. So what is the need for a SOE anyways then?

Nowt has changed, it is about as effective as the ISA apart from the fact it has done more damage to tourism and investment.

Yet again another gunshot wound to the foot from this poor excuse of a government.

[h90]

I think everybody will postpone any serious decision making until the outcome from the elections is known. Nobody wants to bite the hand that feeds them.

Sent from my GT-S5310 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

the outcome of the election can be published earliest 3-6 month from now....As long as not all could vote they can't publish the party list MP results.

[oldthaihand99]

I think everybody will postpone any serious decision making until the outcome from the elections is known. Nobody wants to bite the hand that feeds them.

Sent from my GT-S5310 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

the outcome of the election can be published earliest 3-6 month from now....As long as not all could vote they can't publish the party list MP results.

But will the results take a leak, er, be leaked much earlier. Probably.

[h90]

They must be pretty confident of no crackdown against protesters. So what is the need for a SOE anyways then?

Nowt has changed, it is about as effective as the ISA apart from the fact it has done more damage to tourism and investment.

Yet again another gunshot wound to the foot from this poor excuse of a government.

Thaksin ordered the SOE. He was misinformed about the military and police. A bit of Hitler in the bunker where he moved armies on the map that didn't exist anymore.....

Surely the cronies report him that all the people love him and all the red demonstrations are canceled because lack of people.

[thesetat2013]

But will the results take a leak, er, be leaked much earlier. Probably.

Im sure they will know a tentative estimate the same day or night of elections. The 3~4 month tally is to give them time for what will happen when the results are publicly announced

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[FangFerang]

Another delay leading to a series of delays, leading to more non-action in the name of saving face. Then more obfuscation leading to fuzzy logic culminating in a non-decision, followed by a worldly prevention of a clandestine thought to be provocatively trounced by spin. Then comes the spouting simpletons fueled by an intelligent fire to rant about the beast to which they all were midwives. Finally, at the bitter end, comes the words that sum up nothing and call it pink, in the effort to square the circle, but none have a head for such geometries...

In the end, no one will even know what day it is because that does not matter at all to the power brokers. Calendars are for followers, not for leaders.

[Scamper]

" But the court decided Friday that the government did not indicate that it would crack down on protesters. "

And the court will take that at face value ? What if that isn't the case ? The emergency decree will likely end up at the Constitutional Court in any event. An emergency decree - for any length of time, prolonged or otherwise - is always at a disadvantage being defended in a court of law, as it should be. The courts are empowered to protect the constitutional rights of people.The emergency decree consciously suspends human rights. So for the decree to be deemed justified, the administration has to have such a compelling case, that it would warrant uprooting the most basic freedoms of a people. But if it is determined that it was imposed simply to control the people, to stifle opposition, and to produce a more conducive environment for the administration to hold on - then it will not hold. And if one were to give advice to Yingluck, start by showing up in court, rather than sending operatives to speak on her behalf at these various hearings. Because the more she avoids these appearances, the more she gives the impression of really having nothing to do with the government at all.

[oldthaihand99]

But will the results take a leak, er, be leaked much earlier. Probably.

Im sure they will know a tentative estimate the same day or night of elections. The 3~4 month tally is to give them time for what will happen when the results are publicly announced

What will happen?

People will hear what they already know now? PTP will win easily.

Basicly it's an uncontested election with a foregone conclusion, with the main opposition chickening out & knowing it would lose anyway.

[SOTIRIOS]

...it has previously been cited unconstitutional for an interim government to declare a state of emergency...

Edited February 1, 2014 by SOTIRIOS

[northernjohn]

Another delay leading to a series of delays, leading to more non-action in the name of saving face. Then more obfuscation leading to fuzzy logic culminating in a non-decision, followed by a worldly prevention of a clandestine thought to be provocatively trounced by spin. Then comes the spouting simpletons fueled by an intelligent fire to rant about the beast to which they all were midwives. Finally, at the bitter end, comes the words that sum up nothing and call it pink, in the effort to square the circle, but none have a head for such geometries...

In the end, no one will even know what day it is because that does not matter at all to the power brokers. Calendars are for followers, not for leaders.

Have no fear the interim government will make sure it is all level on a slight tilt.

[northernjohn]

" But the court decided Friday that the government did not indicate that it would crack down on protesters. "

And the court will take that at face value ? What if that isn't the case ? The emergency decree will likely end up at the Constitutional Court in any event. An emergency decree - for any length of time, prolonged or otherwise - is always at a disadvantage being defended in a court of law, as it should be. The courts are empowered to protect the constitutional rights of people.The emergency decree consciously suspends human rights. So for the decree to be deemed justified, the administration has to have such a compelling case, that it would warrant uprooting the most basic freedoms of a people. But if it is determined that it was imposed simply to control the people, to stifle opposition, and to produce a more conducive environment for the administration to hold on - then it will not hold. And if one were to give advice to Yingluck, start by showing up in court, rather than sending operatives to speak on her behalf at these various hearings. Because the more she avoids these appearances, the more she gives the impression of really having nothing to do with the government at all.

She could always send a laptop with Skype on it to get the defense from the horses mouth.

I just wish it was over not just starting to heart the battle up. In 6 months she has managed to offend the middle class so much that they have taken to the streets and not in a partisan way. Just a bunch of citizens asking for an honest government. The only hold back is that they like the rest of us know that as long as their is a Shinawatra involved in it they will not get an honest government. They could care less what party the Shinawatra's were in they just want there kind of people out of it.

Democratic maybe not but some times to get well you have to get sicker.

[brownbear]

More smoke and mirrors: how on earth could 'free' elections be held under an emergerncy decree of this draconian nature. Democracy my A***.

[Publicus]

" But the court decided Friday that the government did not indicate that it would crack down on protesters. "

And the court will take that at face value ? What if that isn't the case ? The emergency decree will likely end up at the Constitutional Court in any event. An emergency decree - for any length of time, prolonged or otherwise - is always at a disadvantage being defended in a court of law, as it should be. The courts are empowered to protect the constitutional rights of people.The emergency decree consciously suspends human rights. So for the decree to be deemed justified, the administration has to have such a compelling case, that it would warrant uprooting the most basic freedoms of a people. But if it is determined that it was imposed simply to control the people, to stifle opposition, and to produce a more conducive environment for the administration to hold on - then it will not hold. And if one were to give advice to Yingluck, start by showing up in court, rather than sending operatives to speak on her behalf at these various hearings. Because the more she avoids these appearances, the more she gives the impression of really having nothing to do with the government at all.

All true in the West in general and in the United States in particular, but the case went before a court in Thailand where the government does not carry the presumptive burden of proof in such an instance. The court satisfied itself the government is not being aggressive with the SOE and the court is accurate, as Suthep continues to roam at will, voters are being seriously abused and intimidated by Suthep's fascist operatives, and shootouts are occurring etc.

Although I support the SOE, I think the court's reason is nonetheless specious and facile, ie, a more substantive constitutional reason needs to be the basis of the ruling. Thai courts do not use precedent as any basis of issuing a judgment so a judge can give any reason of any sort and he did exactly that. The judge could have "justified" his ruling by saying Suthep is a good citizen so Thais (and fahlang) have nothing to worry about, and that too would have been the end of it. Assinine [sic].

And come on now, no head of government appears before a court in such a petition or at all, not in any country anywhere so that demand is another assinine aspect of the right wing cognescenti . It's more than sufficient that the government's legal representative(s) appear to argue the case and then to hear the court's judgement. You people are so loose in picking on YS you easily go overboard in your many assinine absurdities.

[Publicus]

I think everybody will postpone any serious decision making until the outcome from the elections is known. Nobody wants to bite the hand that feeds them.

Sent from my GT-S5310 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

the outcome of the election can be published earliest 3-6 month from now....As long as not all could vote they can't publish the party list MP results.

But will the results take a leak, er, be leaked much earlier. Probably.

If anyone does any exit polling, and even if information is censored or otherwise prohibited being published or broadcast, the findings are going to be circulated and published, certainly outside of Thailand and almost surely by the highly partisan media in Thailand..

I haven't head anything about whether the votes will be counted Sunday after the polls are closed, or be counted at a later date. In India, where voting is done in phases in groups of states over a couple of weeks, the ballots are impounded until the final group of states has voted, then all the votes are counted and the result announced. This is not the same situation or circumstance as Indian electoral procedure, but the intentional delay factor is present in this election.

Also, while I don't know specifically about Thailand, in the US the political parties are allowed respective representatives to be present while the votes are tallied to observe and take down the information. More precisely, the party reps record the first 50 votes as a single sample bloc and report the count to party headquarters because it gives an accurate idea of how the total vote will come out. The process is refined by taking two more sample blocs of 50 votes each then bolting for either the victory celebration or to cry in your beer. That's how any campaign confirms or questions exit polling to itself.

Edited February 1, 2014 by Publicus

[JRSoul]

Seems the posted information/opinion in the earlier thread that the court was biased and the result inevitable were less than accurate.