The National Legislative Assembly (NLA) on Tuesday passed into law a bill that strips convicts who flee their sentences of the right to file criminal suits, including fugitive former premiers Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra.
The NLA voted 149 in favour and none against with three abstentions.
The essence of the bill consists of two core elements.
The first concerns the forfeiture of the right to file a criminal suit by those who go on the run, said Mahannop Detwithak, chairman of the NLA committee that vetted the bill.
"Those who refuse to respect the judicial process should not have the right to protection under that same process, in the interests of fairness," he said.
He confirmed this would apply to the Shinawatra siblings, both of whom are now living in self-imposed exile after fleeing the country to escape Supreme Court convictions against them.
The law will not affect their right to file a civil suit, he said, adding that it was "not designed to treat anyone unfairly".
On Oct 21, 2008, Thaksin was sentenced in absentia to two years in jail in connection with the Ratchadaphisek land purchase case.
Yingluck made her escape in August 2017, shortly before the court was scheduled to hand down a ruling in a rice-pledging case, in which she was indicted for negligence of duty.
The second core element of the new law bans people from filing a new suit in the same criminal case after a court has proved they dishonestly filed a criminal suit against others, said Mr Mahannop.
A "dishonest" law suit is defined as one filed with the intention of having someone prosecuted based on distorted facts, he said.
In such cases, the suit would be rejected and the plaintiff prohibited from filing another one in the same case.
"Quite a few wealthy people have filed [dishonest] lawsuits with the sole intention of getting somebody in trouble, while others have simply refused to abide by the law," Mr Mahannop said.
The new law also allows criminal suspects in cases where the maximum sentence is 10 years to seek a temporary release without being required to provide surety of any kind.
