A member of the Judicial Commission was impeached yesterday after his reputation was tainted with allegations of interfering with the authority of a lower court judge in an inheritance dispute case.
Chamnan: Keeps Supreme Court role
Chamnan Rawiwanpong, 64, was immediately dismissed as a Judicial Commission member when a count of impeachment ballots carried out yesterday showed 3,165 judges nationwide approved a motion to have him removed from the commission, said Suriyan Hongwilai, spokesman for the Courts of Justice.
A total of 4,635 impeachment ballots were sent out to judges eligible to vote on the impeachment motion against Mr Chamnan, and only 3,548 ballots were returned by the voting judges, he said.
The impeachment is believed to be the first in the history of the Thai Courts of Justice.
Under the 2000 Act on Regulations for Judicial Civil Servants of the Courts of Justice, votes from at least half of all judges are required to approve the impeachment of a Judicial Commission member, which means at least 2,318 votes are needed for a successful impeachment motion, he said. A total of 193 judges voted against the proposed impeachment of Mr Chamnan, while another 190 ballots were spoilt, he said.
The impeachment came after Mr Chamnan faced allegations of threatening and interfering with the authority of a judge of the Court of First Instance during a hearing.
His removal from the Judicial Commission however does not apply to Mr Chamnan's other position as president of the Bankruptcy Division of the Supreme Court, said Mr Suriyan.
Mr Chamnan will continue working in his other role until his tenure ends when he is 65 years old, said an informed source.
Previously, Mr Chamnan missed the opportunity to be appointed the first vice president of the Supreme Court because of the allegations, according to the source.
After the impeachment petition was submitted against him, Mr Chamnan lodged a complaint with the police accusing a group of six people who were leading the impeachment moves against him of defaming him and violating the 2007 Computer Crime Act, said the source.
Also, Mr Chamnan filed a separate complaint with police against 12 judges for allegedly defaming him by sharing messages containing information about the impeachment petition against him.
The impeachment was led by Suebpong Sripongkul, the chief judge of Region 2, who Mr Chamnan also pursued malfeasance charges against, in addition to the complaints he filed against the other five.
