'Checks on abuse would be lost' under 1974 charter
Abhisit says focus should not be on which constitution to model on but the points that need to be addressed
Senior figures from the opposition Democrat Party yesterday described the idea of modelling the constitutional amendment after the charter of 1974 as an attempt to get rid of certain courts and independent organisations that are key to maintaining the balance between the three branches of government.
They said the principle of a checks-and-balance system was first introduced into a Thai constitution in the charter of 1997. The idea was non-existent in the 1974 charter.
Opposition and Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday that no constitution is perfect, adding that flaws in the charter of 1974 were rectified in the charter of 1997. He said the 1997 charter focused on preventing politicians from abusing their political powers.
"If we go back to the constitution of 1974, it means we deny the idea of checks and balances. We have had a bad experience about this [abuse of power]. There would be no independent organisations and no judicial power to scrutinise politicians when they use their power wrongly," Abhisit said.
"We don’t need to bicker if the amendment should be modelled after the constitution of 1974 or 1997. We should better focus on the points that need to be improved, and then propose the ideas for the public to help make the decisions," he said.
Government figures have called for constitutional amendment to get rid of the Constitution Court, the Administrative Court, and independent organisations, which they describe as "obstacles to democracy".
Opposition chief whip Jurin Laksanavisit, another senior Democrat figure, said in his Facebook page yesterday that the idea of modelling the amendment after the constitution of 1974 was meant to pave the way for dissolving the Constitution Court and other independent organisations.
"Those organisations did not exist when the country was under the constitution of 1974," he said.
Former Senate speaker Ukrit Mongkolnavin has suggested amending the current post-coup Constitution based on the charter of 1974 in order to "connect to the people". He said the 1974 charter, which was abolished by coup-makers two years after its promulgation, was written by people’s representatives elected from different occupations and was modelled after the constitution of 1949.
Ukrit, who now chairs the government-appointed Independent National Rule of Law Commission, said he made the suggestion as "a lawyer who does not betray his profession".
The constitution of 1974, written after the student-led uprising in October 1973, which ousted the dictatorial government of Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn, is considered one of the country’s most democratic.
Meanwhile, election commissioner Sodsri Satayathum said yesterday that a public referendum was required before Article 309 of the Constitution could be amended.
She said that changes to the article would affect other clauses in the Constitution and could cause opponents of the amendment to again petition the Constitution Court.
Her comment came after former Parliament president Bhokin Palakula, a key figure in the ruling Pheu Thai Party, suggested that Article 309 should be amended in order to "solve the problems that will lead to political turmoil".
Abhisit said yesterday it appeared the proposed changes to Article 309 were meant to help former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s legal problems.
The clause is viewed as legal recognition of post-coup acts. Article 309 states that, "All acts recognised in the Interim Constitution of BE 2549 (2006) as lawful and constitutional, including acts incidental thereto whether performed prior to or subsequent to the date of the promulgation of this Constitution, shall be deemed constitutional under this Constitution".
