Paiboon revives fund to assist poor people in justice system

Paiboon said the lack of public access to the fund under the Justice Ministry’s Rights and Liberties Protection Department (RLPD) was partly because Justice offices had not been set up in all provinces due to lack of staff. 

The RLPD’s main office also has only 200 staff. “I view this as a mistake of the ministry, being unable to provide justice to all due to a lack of community-level agents to propel the work forward,” he said.

The ministry has now entered into an agreement with the Interior Ministry and the Thai police, whose staff network covers all communities nationwide, to have police, kamnan and village headmen notify people of legal aid offered by the fund.

While police in all precincts would notify people involved in criminal cases about the fund, Justice Ministry officials would also work via the complaint-accepting Damrongtham centres and the community justice network so all people who need assistance can access the fund by next April, Paiboon said. 

In regard to budget constraints, the current RLPD chief set up a fund-raising entity to cover payments before the actual budget was allocated, Paiboon said. He explained that the State Justice Fund came from the central budget, unlike other funds with fixed incomes that could have a finance problem if the income dried up. 

Paiboon said when he learnt that the RLPD owed Bt179 million in compensation to crime victims and legal aid to crime suspects, he sought the money immediately and got approval from Cabinet within a week. This year would be the first time the department would not owe any money, he said. 

“No one needs to pay in advance anymore because the government has given high priority to this policy.”

Speaking on how the government would handle an increase in requests and surge in expenses, Paiboon said the RLPD had received Bt200 million a year because only 16 per cent of the people entitled made requests. More proactive work, covering two thirds of entitled peoples’ requests would require Bt300 million, he said, so 100-per-cent coverage meant it would need Bt500 million to Bt600 million a year. 

He explained that the fund’s money wouldn’t be entirely spent because people who get loans for bail deposits would return the money after their cases were finalised and that money could be recycled to aid other suspects. 

“To aid people with Bt500 million to Bt600 million or even Bt1 billion – I can’t see why the government wouldn’t want to help out, considering it will give people the opportunity to defend themselves in the justice system,” he said. “Budget constraints” cited in the past may have stemmed from different policies by administrators. 

Now, the fund will also be backed by the State Justice Fund Act, so the origin of the money and how it is managed would be transparent, he added. 

Paiboon admitted he had not wanted to be at the Justice Ministry because of fear he may not work so well as he is not a graduate in the field, “although I have studied some law”. 

But he said: “Once here, I am satisfied to work in line with my intention to let people access justice.” 

 

 

 

Legal aid fund

 

The State Justice Fund, established in 2006 under Justice Ministry regulations, aims to help poor people who face legal charges with bail deposits, lawyer/court fees, DNA testing fees, transport to and from court plus necessary expenses for accommodation. 

The fund has received 14,316 requests since it was set up – 5,602 of which were approved, for aid worth Bt283 million. About 85 per cent of the assistance money – Bt243 million – went toward bail deposits, followed by Bt20 million for lawyers’ fees and Bt11 million court fees.