RED IN USA

Justice - My Way

Justice-My Way Written by: Dr. Pithaya PookamanFormer Thai Ambassador              In Thailand today, the manifestation of ‘Thainess’ is not only confined to our unique social behavior but has permeated our political culture and judicial system as well.  It has been used by the Thai elite and anti-democratic forces to coin the phrase ‘Thai-style democracy’ which simply means to do it “My Way”, which is ‘freedom to deviate from the democratic system’, or to put it succinctly, freedom to stage military coup d’etat with impunity and the liberty to annihilate those who differ with every means possible, including the ‘judicial coup’ that is so uniquely Thai.  The latter has brought down the People’s Power Party-led government 4 years ago and is now threatening the Yingluck Government which has received an overwhelming mandate by the people to govern the country.              In the last general election, the Pheu Thai Party introduced the constitutional amendment as one of its main campaign issues and, as a result, had been voted to power, signifying the approval of the majority of the people for the charter amendment. Upon taking office, it is therefore incumbent upon the Yingluck Government to submit a charter amendment bill to the Parliament to honor its campaign pledge to the people in the way that would strengthen the democratic institution in Thailand.  Constitutional amendment has always been an anathema to the pseudo-fascists and anti-democratic forces in Thailand as the present 2007 Constitution had been specifically crafted to suit their own selfish whims to enable them to maintain their stranglehold on power. Being outnumbered in the Parliament, these people have to lend a helping hand of the Constitutional Court to stop or forestall the passage of the charter amendment bill.  Not totally unexpected, the Constitutional Court ordered an injunction of the Parliament''s third reading of the charter amendment bill submitted by the government, citing, among others, Section 68 of the Constitution which stipulates that anyone who becomes aware of acts to overthrow the constitutional monarchy may petition the attorney-general to investigate and submit a motion to the court for ruling.              The Court obviously did not expect a slew of criticisms leveled against it and could not satisfactorily explain why it had ordered the suspension of the third reading in the Parliament without prior investigation by the attorney-general.  There were widespread criticisms that the Court had exceeded its authority by accepting the petition, thereby trespassing on the domain of the legislative branch.  The assertion that the charter amendment bill seeks to overthrow the constitutional monarchy is utterly nonsensical as the government has unequivocally stated that it will uphold the institution of monarchy and the charter amendment will not touch the clause pertaining to monarchy.  One can only conclude therefore that the Court''s injunction on the bill is a premeditated effort on the part of the anti-democratic forces to scuttle the constitutional amendment in order to cling on to power which had been buttressed by the military coup of 2006.              The reaction to the Court’s injunction is far reaching. The Pheu Thai Party stated that the Parliament was not bound to follow the Court order. A certain MP claimed that the court judges were acting as if they were demigods doing whatever they pleased, whilst the Red Shirted UDD had gathered signatures from petitioners to impeach Constitution Court judges for breaching the law.              The people''s frustration with the Constitution Court has been long standing.  This latest move to undermine a democratically elected government is the final straw that broke a camel''s back.  It is apparent that the Constitutional Court, along with other independent organs (the word ‘independent’ is a misnomer) allied with anti-democratic forces, are again resorting to foul plays that have exceeded the threshold of endurance of the people who want to see the country move forward.             Since the establishment of the Constitutional Court as an independent judicial organ in 1997, there has always been a controversy over its jurisdiction, composition, the initial selection of the justices, and more importantly, the rulings of the Court.  When the Constitution Tribunal was constituted under military sponsored 2007 Constitution, it abandoned every principle it was supposed to uphold in favor of arbitrary use of power.  The 3 sacred pillars, representing the executive, legislative, and judiciary branches which are vital for the proper functioning of a democracy, were shaken to the core to enable the preeminence of the judiciary over other branches.  In what was hailed as a ‘judicial coup’ in lieu of the classic military coup d’etat, the Court audaciously dissolved the Thai Rak Thai Party and, subsequently, the People’s Power Party, both of which were voted to power by the vast majority of the Thai people.  The real culprits, however, walked away scotch free in defiance of the justice system, but not of the Court whose integrity and honesty or even relevance were being questioned by the people.  If the judicial skirmish with the legislative branch over the charter amendment bill is seen as a cloak in launching another ''judicial coup'', the Constitutional Court and the chorus that supports it will have to seriously weigh the consequences.  Dancing to the Sinatra’s tune of “My Way” this time may well be their “Last Waltz”.                                                --------------------------                                                                          Written by: Dr. Pithaya Pookaman                                         Former Thai Ambassador

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