CDC must open up to public participation: legal expert

At a seminar on “The new charter draft: where are the people?” organised by the Law Reform Commission of Thailand, legal specialist Pairoj Polpetch urged the CDC under the leadership of Meechai Ruchupan to allow greater public participation in writing the country’s top law. He said the new constitution should not be written by a small group of people and then enforced on all citizens across the country.

“The constitution will be meaningful only if the public has participated in its drafting, so that it belongs to the public as a whole and not just one person,’’ he said.

He said that at least the previous charter draft, written by the CDC under Borwornsak Uwanno, had strengths in terms of reform and reconciliation.

The previous CDC, he said, had given ample opportunity for the public to reflect on the content of its draft. “They allowed people to debate the content. But we have no idea what the focus of this new charter draft is, because it is not accessible by the people,’’ Pairoj said.