Tougher law for politicians

[webfact]

Tougher law for politicians

By KASAMAKORN CHANWANPEN 
THE NATION 

 

NO STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR FUGITIVES; STIPULATION GIVEN THEM NOD BY NLA ALLOWS TRIAL IN ABSENTIA

BANGKOK: -- A NEW LAW on criminal cases against politicians makes it pointless for defendants to escape the country and wait for the statute of limitations to expire.

 

The organic law on criminal procedures for political office holders stipulates that the statute of limitations does not cover the period of time indicted politicians flee the country after their cases are brought to court – a tactic adopted by many politicians charged with irregularities or malfeasance.

 

The law, required by the new Constitution, also allows the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders to hear cases against indicted politicians in absentia. However, there has been concern that this practice may go against international principles.

 

After three hours of deliberation, the bill yesterday sailed easily past the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) in the second and the third readings, with 176-0 votes in support and three abstentions.

 

The law is subject to review if any involved agencies or the Constitutional Court say it is unconstitutional, before it is forwarded to the Cabinet.

 

The bill is among 10 organic laws that need to be written to complement the new Constitution ahead of the next general election. It involves the court procedures for political office holders, and aims to address issues such as failure to bringing defenders to court or culprits to justice due to their political and economic power.

 

The vetting committee had written that cases would proceed in court regardless of the defender’s absence but raised questions on whether it was an infringement of rights.

 

NLA member Thani Onla-eiad said it has always been a practice in Thailand that the trial must take place with the defender present, in line with an international principle. The trial in absentia was only allowed on the defender’s request, according to the criminal procedures for the political office holders Act, he said.

 

The vetting committee’s chairman, Pattarasak Wannasang, explained that as the bill was especially for political office holders, it could be different from normal criminal laws.

 

The crimes committed by political office holders were more systemic and it was harder to accumulate evidence, the legislator said. In addition, the defenders were more likely to succeed in absconding, he said, resulting in the case being interrupted or paused and expired, leading to failure in bringing the culprit to justice. “Normal procedure with the presence of the defender could work with normal people, but not with those who are politically and economically powerful,” he said.

 

Pattarasak said that such a practice was not against international law. If the authority failed to bring the defender to court, it meant that the defender gives up their rights to stand trial. In addition, he pointed out that the defender could send a lawyer to represent their interests in court even though they were absent.

 

Somchai Sawaengkan, a spokesman for the vetting committee, said yesterday that the law was not intended for any politician in particular, as it would be enforced on political office holders of all levels and members of independent organisations as well.

 

Udom Rathamarit, a member of the Constitution Drafting Commission responsible for writing the original draft of the bill and who also sat on the vetting committee, said that the legislation should help create equality. It must find a way to get around people who abscond and reject justice, he said.

 

Besides allowing trials in absentia, the bill has other changes to criminal procedures against political office holders such as the adoption of the inquisitorial system, which encourages the court to investigate and find evidence against defenders rather than allowing them to prove their innocence.

 

KEY POINTS

 

Stipulations in the draft organic law on the procedure for criminal cases against political office holders.

 

- The count of a case’s statute of limitation stops when an indicted politician escapes, after the case is brought to court against him or her.

 

- The court may accept a case even if the indicted politician is not present before the court after being summoned.

 

- The court will issue an arrest warrant for a defendant who fails to show up after being summoned by the court.

 

- The court may start hearing the case against the defendant in absentia, three months after the person’s escape.

 

- Provisions under the organic law have no impact on cases already filed and can proceed as before the promulgation of the law.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/politics/30320694

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-07-14

[ChidlomDweller]

What possible defense is there for not making this law universal?  Why go out of their way to make it only for political office holders?  God forbid such a law might ensnare the Red Bull heir and other future hiso scum on the run.

Edited July 13, 2017 by ChidlomDweller

[Samui Bodoh]

14 minutes ago, webfact said:

Somchai Sawaengkan, a spokesman for the vetting committee, said yesterday that the law was not intended for any politician in particular,

 

[yellowboat]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

After three hours of deliberation, the bill yesterday sailed easily past the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) in the second and the third readings, with 176-0 votes in support and three abstentions.

Since the junta usurped power, no bill has even had one opposing vote.  Bills do not sail under this government, they have their own private fast lane. 

[PatOngo]

Tougher law for politicians

Reminds me of a Beatles song..................................yeah yeah yeah!

[canuckamuck]

It's that Thaksin obsession again, The number one agenda of the government. Get the guy that got the working class to imagine they had something to say.

 

[leeneeds]

"- The court may start hearing the case against the defendant in absentia, three months after the person’s escape."

good enough for the  goose good enough for the ,abbott , Red Bull ,  

 

 

[Emster23]

While they are "at it" how about tougher laws for military?

[robblok]

3 hours ago, ChidlomDweller said:

What possible defense is there for not making this law universal?  Why go out of their way to make it only for political office holders?  God forbid such a law might ensnare the Red Bull heir and other future hiso scum on the run.

Agreed make it universal.

[seajae]

while many will see this aimed at thaksin it will catch others as well, its just that he has so many charges waiting to be heard. Definitely needs to be against everyone though so those with the finacial backing/ability cant simply keep ignoring/running away from court appearances until they expire, there are way too many thais that do it

[12DrinkMore]

4 hours ago, canuckamuck said:

Get the guy that got the working class to imagine they had something to say.

That was just a means to an end.

 

SquareFace never cared about the poor, he had a personal ambition which did not quite align with the existing structures.

[Pridilives]

2 hours ago, robblok said:

Agreed make it universal.

555555 why you think army make law just for politician and not for army and rich friend. Army just do for make sure army can ever take money from public purse and easy for get out any politician. Army just care army but politician care politician AND people. Politician better for Thai than army

[stephen tracy]

3 hours ago, Emster23 said:

While they are "at it" how about tougher laws for military?

There's no need because, unlike civilian politicians, when the military robs the public coffers this is not corruption, it's Thainess. You just don't understand Thailand.

[canuckamuck]

That was just a means to an end.

 

SquareFace never cared about the poor, he had a personal ambition which did not quite align with the existing structures.

So in your opinion what is root cause of the witch hunt on Thaksin. Was it that he didn't pad the right pockets, or is it that he threatened the system?

 

Sent from my ASUS_X008D using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

 

 

[Moonmoon]

I agree they should make it so politicians cannot escape, but can they make sure that they will prosecute all that has done wrong and broken the law equally and without prejudice? 

 

SO far it has always only been 1 sided. Until that can be achieved, everything they are doing is just BS 

[Moonmoon]

1 hour ago, 12DrinkMore said:

That was just a means to an end.

 

SquareFace never cared about the poor, he had a personal ambition which did not quite align with the existing structures.

if he never cared about the poor, why does after 10 years I still hear quite many Thais still supporting him and wishing for his return? For handouts of 1000baht and 2000 baht?

 

If you think Thais are the cheap , think again.

 

The times under Thaksin was the best. Economy was the best. Lives of the Thai Citizens improved. 

I have no doubt that He was corrupted in some way, then again in which country politicians are not corrupted and involved in cronyism for their own benefits? 

 

 

At least Thaksin did so much better than the rest of buffoons who seized power and fxxx up this country so bad now.

[12DrinkMore]

1 hour ago, canuckamuck said:

So in your opinion what is root cause of the witch hunt on Thaksin. Was it that he didn't pad the right pockets, or is it that he threatened the system?

 

He did not want to change the system, he wanted to be the head honcho of it.

[JAG]

 
He did not want to change the system, he wanted to be the head honcho of it.

I'm sure he wanted "to be the head honcho", for a while he was. In becoming the head honcho he did change the system, he was chosen by the electorate because he promised to make their lives better. That was a massive change - being chosen by the people - and it put the fear of God into the establishment who had previously had an unchallenged right to rule.
That's why he is now in exile - he knows that the two year (?) sentence they handed down meant that once he went into the prison system, however comfortable it may have been, he would not come out alive.
"Head honcho" he was, and he changed the system. Maybe he meant to, maybe he didnt really care, but change it he did. Try as they might, they will never put that genie back in the bottle.

[YetAnother]

6 hours ago, Emster23 said:

While they are "at it" how about tougher laws for military?

Thais are not introspective

[YetAnother]

1 hour ago, Moonmoon said:

if he never cared about the poor, why does after 10 years I still hear quite many Thais still supporting him and wishing for his return? For handouts of 1000baht and 2000 baht?

 

If you think Thais are the cheap , think again.

 

The times under Thaksin was the best. Economy was the best. Lives of the Thai Citizens improved. 

I have no doubt that He was corrupted in some way, then again in which country politicians are not corrupted and involved in cronyism for their own benefits? 

 

 

At least Thaksin did so much better than the rest of buffoons who seized power and fxxx up this country so bad now.

And those people are far from done

 

[YetAnother]

9 hours ago, yellowboat said:

Since the junta usurped power, no bill has even had one opposing vote.  Bills do not sail under this government, they have their own private fast lane. 

It is called fear

[Srikcir]

11 hours ago, webfact said:

The law, required by the new Constitution, also allows the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders to hear cases against indicted politicians in absentia. However, there has been concern that this practice may go against international principles.

Trial in absentia does go against international criminal principles.

From The Protection of the Accused in International Criminal Law According to the Human Rights Law Standards by Karolina Kremens, Wroclaw Review of Law, Administration & Economics:

• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 14 (3) (d) - the accused has a right ‘to be tried in his presence’
• Report of the Secretary-General of the UN, ‘A trial should not commence until the accused is physically present before the International Tribunal.

• The law of the ad hoc tribunals forbids trial in absentia by means of Article 21 (4) (d) of the ICTY Statute and Article 22 (4) (d) of the ICTR Statute.

• The law of ICTY and ICTR. Article 63 (1) of the Rome Statute provides clearly that ‘the accused shall be present during the trial’.

From the Report on the ‘Experts’ Roundtable on trials in absentia in international criminal justice’ by the IBA International Criminal Court and International Criminal Law Programme (2016):

• Two special cases for trial in absentia - The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) and the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) allowed for a version of trials in absentia to take place when an accused made an initial appearance and subsequently failed to attend.

• the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) found that trials in absentia can be permitted under very limited conditions: notice of the proceedings (regular due diligence is not enough); the appointment of defense counsel and effective representation (counsel did not operate under undue influence or pressure); and the right to retrial (able to obtain a fresh determination on the merits of the charges).

There are inherent flaws in the Thai prosecution and judicial system that makes meeting limited conditions difficult if not manipulative:

• Lax efforts to apprehend an accused who has fled out of the country
• Politicization of both the prosecution and courts
• Encourage accused to flee in order to use in absentia trial to enhance weak prosecution
• Permissive influence or pressure on Defense Counsel
• Inability of Defense Counsel to represent the accused to enhance prosecution

By international standards trial in absentia is not the norm. While in absentia resolves the frustrations of the authorities, a trial in absentia does nothing to give the public the sense that justice is being done and does not protect the rights of the accused in the case wherein there has been no arrest to present charges. Only that justice is being manipulated as a means to an end.

 

 

Edited July 14, 2017 by Srikcir

[candide]

25 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

It does - against international criminal principles.

From The Protection of the Accused in International Criminal Law According to the Human Rights Law Standards by Karolina Kremens, Wroclaw Review of Law, Administration & Economics:

• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 14 (3) (d) - the accused has a right ‘to be tried in his presence’
• Report of the Secretary-General of the UN -

 

Additionally, they will apply it retroactively, which is also against principles.....

[canuckamuck]

3 hours ago, 12DrinkMore said:

 

He did not want to change the system, he wanted to be the head honcho of it.

Everybody wants to be head honcho.

It is an especially common trait among people who are voted in to be head honcho, but apparently some people with no votes but lots of guns also like to be head honcho.

[JAG]

Everybody wants to be head honcho.

It is an especially common trait among people who are voted in to be head honcho, but apparently some people with no votes but lots of guns also like to be head honcho.

Not to mention people with not enough votes but with friends who have lots of guns....

Sorry, my wrong, I've just remembered - that's called "transition to a better democracy".

 

[ramrod711]

 A NEW LAW on criminal cases against politicians makes it pointless for defendants to escape the country and wait for the statute of limitations to expire.

 

About time, should have been done years ago. Never happen under the alphabet, proxy governments that have a different solution, amnesty for the leader.

[ramrod711]

56 minutes ago, canuckamuck said:

Everybody wants to be head honcho.

It is an especially common trait among people who are voted in to be head honcho, but apparently some people with no votes but lots of guns also like to be head honcho.

And the difference between having the guns and hiring people to do your killing for you would be? Oh wait, I know, the color of their shirts, right?

[yellowboat]

6 minutes ago, ramrod711 said:

And the difference between having the guns and hiring people to do your killing for you would be? Oh wait, I know, the color of their shirts, right?

No, votes.  Lots of them

[canuckamuck]

23 minutes ago, ramrod711 said:

And the difference between having the guns and hiring people to do your killing for you would be? Oh wait, I know, the color of their shirts, right?

 

Wait, you are seeing equality between having the nations armed forces at your beckon call, and a handful of rice farmers with random weapons.

 

[JAG]

  Wait, you are seeing equality between having the nations armed forces at your beckon call, and a handful of rice farmers with random weapons.        

 

 

It's a justification. Not much of one admittedly but then it sounds better than the truth!       

 

 

You see they knew they were not going to get the votes in the election, so they arranged a coup to prevent that. The new law is part of the process of ensuring that they never need to worry about that again.

 

Its called "transition to a better democracy".