Charter court dismisses complaint against House speaker

The Constitutional Court on Tuesday rejected a complaint alleging that House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha had breached the charter by nominating the prime minister for royal endorsement.

The complaint, filed by former district chief Kitti Saengpradit, accused Wan Noor of violating his constitutional rights by not cross-checking the qualifications of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra before seeking royal approval of her appointment. 

Kitti alleged that Wan Noor had violated the Constitution’s Articles 159 and 160, which require Cabinet members to meet certain qualifications before they can be appointed. 

The plaintiff invoked Article 213 of the charter to file the complaint. The article states that a person can seek a ruling from the Constitutional Court if they feel their rights and liberty protected by the charter are violated. However, the complaint must be filed in line with the Constitutional Court Trial Procedural Act. 

The court rejected Kitti’s case because the procedural act required him to first file the complaint with the ombudsman, who would have then considered it before passing it on to the court. 

Worse yet, the court said that Kitti had failed to prove in his complaint how his rights were violated by Paetongtarn’s appointment. The court said the complaint was more an expression of Kitti’s opinion rather than a complaint of charter violation.