Demolition plan 'approved 20 years ago'
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The Fine Arts Department agreed to plans for the Supreme Court compound more than 20 years ago, so its opposition to the demolition of the buildings there now is unfounded, senior judges concluded yesterday.
A source said Supreme Court President Pairoj Wayuparb, who presided over the meeting, said there would be no responses from the judiciary to the Fine Arts Department. Most of the judges in the meeting deemed the department’s stance as intimidating and inappropriate.
According to documents presented in the meeting, the department agreed with a 1990 Supreme Court plan to demolish all the buildings in the compound and construct new ones except the oldest one, the Court of Justice, which the Supreme Court intends to keep.
The Fine Arts Department has threatened to sue Sino-Thai Co, the contractor carrying out the demolition, for violating the Historic Sites Act. The department had also planned to sue the Supreme Court, but now has given up on that.
The source said Sino-Thai could lodge a countersuit against the Fine Arts Department for allegedly filing a false statement.
Sitthisak Wanachakij, spokesman for the Court of Justice, said the court received a Fine Arts Department statement yesterday asking that the demolition be halted. Talks between the two parties will likely be held immediately after the New Year’s break, he said.
