Next decade a tough one for the law; needs 'major reform'
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CHANGES IN SOCIETY WILL ALSO DEMAND CHANGES IN JUSTICE SYSTEM, SEMINAR HEARS
CHANGES in the law are needed to support the development of Thailand’s judicial process over the next decade when the Kingdom will become an aged – and more troubled – society, a researcher from the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) predicted yesterday.
The country will experience labour shortages and see more criminal and terrorist activity on the Internet, said Jakkrit Kuanpoth, economic-law research director at the TDRI.
He was speaking at a seminar on Thai justice and its preparedness for the next 10 years, hosted by the TDRI and the Office of Justice Affairs.
Jakkrit said Thailand should adapt to such changes by reviewing and amending laws such as the civil code and the criminal code.
“Some criminal offences will have to be revoked, while the police force should speedily be reformed and its manpower increased,” he said, adding that public’s law-abiding awareness should be instilled from childhood.
As traffic laws were the most violated ones, he suggested the use of technology and the private sector’s participation to lessen the workload of state officials.
Jakkrit said other laws should be amended to boost Thailand’s competitiveness amid the regional free-trade scenario.
Constitution Court Judge Charan Phakdithanakul admitted it was time for major reform, which would need solid driving forces to propel it forward successfully.
He said the Justice Ministry could be a leading agent for such reform, provided that accommodating channels were in place – a matter that should be seriously discussed later.
Charan concurred with TRDI suggestions for legal amendments, especially on improving the courts’ expertise so trials could better fit the cases’ circumstances.
Pointing out the country’s current disunity and many narrow-minded people whose aims were for self-benefit, Charan said it was not an ideal condition for the quality development of the judicial system.
“I’ve seen some civil servants fired for corruption but then landing MP positions under a major political party’s banner. It shows that our political system lacks screening that such persons can get through. Once they are in, it is difficult to get them out. The horrible thing is these people worked on top of civil servants,” he said.
Charan called for senior political figures not to support individuals with extreme ideologies and corrupt attitudes gaining roles in Thai politics.
As politics is the country’s major source of power, if this system were broken it would be difficult for the country to move forward, he said.
