Reform may lead to new ad hoc Thai court for drug cases

[webfact]

Reform may lead to new ad hoc court for drug cases
The Nation



Bid to address lengthy proceedings with more than 20,000 cases clogging the system

BANGKOK: -- UNDER THE anticipated judicial reform, appeals against drug-related convictions would be handled by a new ad-hoc court in a bid to ease the workload and address very lengthy court proceedings.

Appeals against verdicts in special cases would also be heard and tried by the Court of Appeals instead of the Supreme Court, according to conclusions reached at the Courts of Justice workshop.

Drug-related convictions make up 70 per cent of all court proceedings.

Appeals should be dealt with by the new court, potentially called the Court of Appeals for Drug-relate Convictions, said Bowornsak Thawiphat, the spokesman for the Courts of Justice. The workshop was held on Friday at Chanthaburi and was presided over by Court of Appeals Chief Justice Ekkachai Chinnaphong.

Bowornsak said appeals in special court cases regarding labour disputes, bankruptcy, tax fraud and tax-reclaim requests, intellectual property and international trade should be tried by the Court of Appeals instead of the Supreme Court as they are now.

He said there were more than 20,000 cases in the judicial system, prompting long delays and the ensuing criticism from the public.

The steps towards Supreme Court proceedings should also be altered. Currently, joint approvals by a central quorum of senior judges was needed to decide which Court of Appeals verdicts deserved final scrutiny by the Supreme Court. This should be changed to preliminary agreements by the Supreme Court judges, who would handle the verdicts.

Bowornsak said the objective of the reform, which would be facilitated through an amendment to court regulations and other procedural laws, was to ensure each case would take no more than a year.

"The changes will not be a burden added further to the Supreme Court judges, but will ensure quicker processes and shorter proceedings for all parties involved including the parties in dispute," he added.

The proposed changes will need to be approval by the board of the Office of the Judicial Administration Commission, which is chaired by Supreme Court president Direk Ingkhaninant, before being submitted to the National Legislative Assembly for scrutiny and promulgation.

Meanwhile, deputy police chief General Pongsapat Pongcharon yesterday made public the arrests of five people and the seizure of drugs worth more than Bt63.5 million in street value.

The drugs consist of some 194,000 amphetamine tablets and 5kg of "ice" flakes.

The suspects were identified as Korwee Maliwan, Witthaya Jitsuk, Suriya Pradabyart, Wallop Yooyen and Siri Benhaji-salem.

Police said they were going after a key suspect in the case, identified as Suchart Khumsej.

The five were arrested yesterday in a sting operation at a medical centre in Nakhon Nayok's Ongkharak district.

At another police press conference, police showcased the seizure of 100kg of marijuana and a suspect identified as Bunchuay Anthama, who was arrested recently at a hotel in Saraburi province.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Reform-may-lead-to-new-ad-hoc-court-for-drug-cases-30243276.html


-- The Nation 2014-09-15

[jaidam]

Legalize, regulate quality and apply taxes. Safer for the user and financially beneficial for the state. Let's get our class A drugs back to the high standard their category implies, instead of the badly manufactured rubbish the off duty coppers are pushing nowadays.

[Fiddlesticks]

Drug-related convictions make up 70 per cent of all court proceedings.

I have to think that seriously curbing the drug trade in Thailand will have a SIGNIFICANT, negative impact on the economy of this country especially here in the North. I wonder just how much of Thailand's economy is bolstered by drug money. That being said, I doubt that the war on drugs here in Thailand will be pursued diligently until those in power find a way to backfill the financial loss due to curbing drug money and I don't see that happening for a loooooooong time.

[WitawatWatawit]

Legalize, regulate quality and apply taxes. Safer for the user and financially beneficial for the state. Let's get our class A drugs back to the high standard their category implies, instead of the badly manufactured rubbish the off duty coppers are pushing nowadays.

Huh? What on earth has this got to do with reform of the judicial system? Beat your boring drum elsewhere or keep your comments on topic.

If seeking reform, how about more power for judges to suspend adjudication while demanding police supply more evidence, instead of just quashing a case. This might create more roadblocks, but it's a better way to ensure justice. Likewise, more power and encouragement for judges to criticise law enforcement and lay charges against errant coppers would be welcome as well.

[NongKhaiKid]

More than 20,000 drug cases clogging the system, 70% of court proceedings involve drug offences.

Speaks volumes.

[Badbanker]

Legalize, regulate quality and apply taxes. Safer for the user and financially beneficial for the state. Let's get our class A drugs back to the high standard their category implies, instead of the badly manufactured rubbish the off duty coppers are pushing nowadays.

You obviously haven't had to deal with on a daily basis, or have seem the scourge that class A drugs are on Thai society.

The deaths, the destroyed lives and the huge negative impact on Thai society and the economy are very real!

Please take your theoretical pseudo science and leave it on Mars, cause it don't work on earth

[ChrisY1]

With 20,000 drug cases waiting......shows the lack of committment among the judiciary and the immaturity and complexity of the justice system.

I'm sure that many of these cases involve the users, mules and pushers..probably make up 90%....it's the cartels and big names that manage the whole scene, and these are the important cases.....go after these people first.....!

[NongKhaiKid]

With 20,000 drug cases waiting......shows the lack of committment among the judiciary and the immaturity and complexity of the justice system.

I'm sure that many of these cases involve the users, mules and pushers..probably make up 90%....it's the cartels and big names that manage the whole scene, and these are the important cases.....go after these people first.....!

Chris, when we read reports on drug arrests the phrase ' believed connected to a local politician / influential figure ' goes a long way to ensuring certain people, i.e. those you correctly highlight, don't appear in court.

[chainarong]

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More than 20,000 drug cases clogging the system, 70% of court proceedings involve drug offences.

Speaks volumes.

Just makes you wonder how effectual Thaskin Shunawatra's drug suppression programme in the north was , what did it achieve, except a U.N. Human rights abuse case that fade into obscurity when PTP came to power and four thousand Plus , either disappeared or murdered.

[jcisco]

Drug-related convictions make up 70 per cent of all court proceedings.

I have to think that seriously curbing the drug trade in Thailand will have a SIGNIFICANT, negative impact on the economy of this country especially here in the North. I wonder just how much of Thailand's economy is bolstered by drug money. That being said, I doubt that the war on drugs here in Thailand will be pursued diligently until those in power find a way to backfill the financial loss due to curbing drug money and I don't see that happening for a loooooooong time.

I'm afraid you maybe right to some extent, however I do wonder how much of the business within Thailand is for the local consumer. To be worth keeping the business around there would have to be some substantial manufacture and export to really be injecting liquidity into the economy. Otherwise the cash is most likely making a trip quite quickly out of the country to its source.... never know the cash may come back again to the sources home country..... maybe, I'm only imagining a likely conspiracy

Or maybe you were strictly speaking about government officials, police and the like not the government requiring backfill

[DrLom]

Can't wait to get my hands on these, once the cameras have gone! (hands at the ready)

[NongKhaiKid]

Can't wait to get my hands on these, once the cameras have gone! (hands at the ready)

Looks like Max Bygraves - " You need ' ands ".

Apologies to those who may not catch on.

[quayYAI]

Legalize, regulate quality and apply taxes. Safer for the user and financially beneficial for the state. Let's get our class A drugs back to the high standard their category implies, instead of the badly manufactured rubbish the off duty coppers are pushing nowadays.

You obviously haven't had to deal with on a daily basis, or have seem the scourge that class A drugs are on Thai society.

The deaths, the destroyed lives and the huge negative impact on Thai society and the economy are very real!

Please take your theoretical pseudo science and leave it on Mars, cause it don't work on earth

This is due to non-regulation, allowing bad quailty to the marketplace.

[hyperdimension]

You obviously haven't had to deal with on a daily basis, or have seem the scourge that class A drugs are on Thai society.

The deaths, the destroyed lives and the huge negative impact on Thai society and the economy are very real!

Would you say the same about ethanol?

[connda]

With drug-related convictions making up 70 per cent of all court proceedings, the question should be: What is really wrong with Thai society? Seems to be a pretty disparate percentage imho.

The 'war on drugs' in one emoticon:

Edited September 15, 2014 by connda

[Canada]

One day all the "war on drugs" supporting folks will be dead and then the next generation can get going with an approach that is a little more realistic and also less profitable for the criminals.

[Chaz1819]

No doubt reform of the system is needed and it's great it's being looked. Take these things as they come.

I want to throw these two things out here to see peoples thoughts. 20,000 doesn't seem so big to me. If you spread that over the past year to fill up the pipeline, it comes out to about 54 cases generated a day, country wide that seems manageable. I don't know.

Also, 70% strikes me as a very big number. All other crimes total only 30%. That would make Thailand the safest place in the world if not for drugs.

Edited September 15, 2014 by Chaz1819

[Guitar God]

Theoretical pseudo science?

Colorado legalizes cannabis and within 6 months, crime drops 10%, violent crime drops by 5%. Deaths by opiate painkiller ODs are down 25% and the state has collected $30 million in taxes and between 10,000 and 15,000 new jobs were created.

2005 Portugal legalized all drugs, hard drug use and OD rates are one of the lowest in Europe.

In the 70's The Netherlands decriminalized marijuana and hash and allowed their controlled sale. Marijuana use among teens is about half the rate of prohibitionist countries like the US, France and Sweden. Meth use is practically unheard of, as are narcotic OD's. They do have a high rate of MDMA use though.

Not theory, facts and all these countries are right here on earth.

Some people use dangerous drugs because safer, bulkier alternatives aren't available. When cannabis use rises, alcohol and hard drug use decreases. There are many reliable references on the internet with results of these studies. Take away the allure of illegal drugs and interest in using them decreases. Make safer drugs available at places that deal only in those drugs and people are no longer exposed to criminal dealers who push coke, ya ba, heroin, meth etc. on them.

Back in the 80's, comedian Sam Kinison said (yelled actually) as a joke " Give us back our pot and we'll stop smoking crack". Funniest part of the joke was that he turned out to be right.

Legalize, regulate quality and apply taxes. Safer for the user and financially beneficial for the state. Let's get our class A drugs back to the high standard their category implies, instead of the badly manufactured rubbish the off duty coppers are pushing nowadays.

You obviously haven't had to deal with on a daily basis, or have seem the scourge that class A drugs are on Thai society.

The deaths, the destroyed lives and the huge negative impact on Thai society and the economy are very real!

Please take your theoretical pseudo science and leave it on Mars, cause it don't work on earth