Easier appeals for convicted politicians under new rules

Cases now being tried in the court will come under the new rules if verdicts are given after the new charter takes effect, said Athikom Intuputi, secretary-general of the Office of the Judiciary.
These would include cases stemming from the previous government’s rice pledging scheme against former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra and some of her Cabinet members. A court verdict in a case in which Yingluck is accused of negligence is expected to be made around the middle of the year.
“This new rule will be applied to all the cases that the court makes verdicts on after the new constitution takes effect, with no exceptions,” Athikom said yesterday.
The new constitution, approved by majority vote in the referendum last August, is expected to be enacted by early next month.
When the new charter takes effect, both the convicted defendants and public prosecutors are allowed to appeal the court’s verdicts without having to acquire “new evidence” as required under the previous constitution of 2007, according to Athikom. 
He said that under the new constitution, an appeal could be made over facts or legal issues, with no requirement for new evidence.
The judicial official said that in the past, it was very difficult for convicted defendants to find new evidence within the 30-day timeframe allowed for appeal. Therefore, most appeals often ended up being rejected by the court on grounds that the defence failed to produce new evidence that could change key facts in cases.
Under the previous constitution, only the defence was allowed to appeal verdicts. However, the new charter will allow both the defence and the prosecution to appeal.