CDC submits new organic bill to NLA

The Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) has submitted an organic bill on the Constitutional Court's trial procedures to the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), which is scheduled to start the bill's deliberation tomorrow.

The legislation allows people to directly lodge a petition to the Constitutional Court when they feel their rights and liberties, as protected by the charter, are violated, but this can only be done when other courts or agencies either insist they have no authority to deliberate the case or simply neglect to perform their duties, according to CDC spokesman Udom Rathamarit.

The bill also brings the issue of contempt of court for the Constitutional Court to par with the courts of justice, Mr Udom said. This will help defend the court from dishonest criticism, which also covers people using the media or social media to target the court as well as those mobilising people to put pressure on the court.

Offenders could face punishment ranging from a warning, a jail term of up to a month or a fine of up to 50,000 baht, he said, citing Section 38 of the bill.

"We think that the Constitutional Court should be able to ensure justice without any influence or any threats, so this stipulation needs to be made," said Mr Udom.

The bill, meanwhile, has a transitional provision which forces existing Constitutional Court judges who do not meet qualification requirements under the charter to be removed under the so-called "reset" principle, he said.

Mr Udom said this reset principle applies to most of the charter-based organisations.

Citing the bill, the spokesman said the Constitutional Court plays a key role in adjudicating whether laws are constitutional and ruling whether charter-based organisations are practising against the constitution.

The new authority of the Constitutional Court is to provide consultation to the charter-based organisations before disputes emerge, he said, adding the measure would help stop problems escalating as has happened in the past.

"In the draft bill, the Constitutional Court is made up of nine judges," said Mr Udom, adding there must be at least seven judges on duty.