Separate anti-graft court proposed
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AN ADMINISTRATIVE COURT unit will be set up to exclusively tackle corruption - including at the policy level - under the new charter.
The Financial and Budgetary Discipline Division will be under the Central Administrative Court and Supreme Administrative Court, Borwornsak Uwanno, chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee, said yesterday.
The move follows a call by Privy Council President Prem Tinsulanonda for a court dedicated solely to deal with graft.
Under the proposal, if the court finds suspicious activities by anyone during its review of a case, it can issue a temporary injunction.
And if anyone causes losses to state coffers or property, the court could order them to compensate for such damage. The new court would not follow normal judicial procedures such as those of the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Office Holders, which rules against a defendant only when guilt is proven beyond doubt.
“Traditional courts have adhered to the principle that letting 10 guilty people off the hook is better than punishing one innocent person,’’ he said.
Under the new law, the National Anti-Corruption Commission, the State Audit Commission and the public can petition the court directly.
“The court can issue a verdict just by having evidence to believe that there is some irregularity. This will plug loopholes often found in corruption cases,’’ he said.
However, if politicians and officials implement policies that lead to damage to the state but can prove they were not aware of the potential risk to the country, they may be not be penalised, he added.
