Nine Constitutional Court judges to rule on Paetongtarn case tomorrow

The Senate earlier requested the Constitutional Court to rule on whether Paetongtarn’s premiership should be terminated over a controversial audio clip of a conversation between the Thai PM and Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen.

There are four possible scenarios: the court accepts the petition and orders Paetongtarn to suspend her duties; accepts the petition but allows her to continue; rejects the petition; or postpones the decision pending additional documentation.

All nine Constitutional Court judges are scheduled to participate in the decision. They are:

• Nakharin Mektrairat, President of the Constitutional Court, whose term technically ended in November 2024 but who remains in post until a replacement is appointed. He is also a professor of political science.
   
• Punya Udchachon, whose term also ended in November 2024 but continues to serve until a new judge is appointed. He is an expert in case law and academic affairs at the Office of the Constitutional Court.
   
• Udom Sittiwirattham, a former presiding judge of the Supreme Court who chaired the division handling appeals and petitions.
   
• Wirun Saengthian, a former senior judge of the Supreme Court who chaired the commercial and economic cases division.
   
• Jiraniti Hawanon, a former presiding judge of the Supreme Court.
   
• Noppadon Theppitak, a former deputy permanent secretary of the Foreign Ministry and former ambassador to Cairo, Wellington, and Vientiane.
   
• Banjongsak Wongprach, a former judge of the Administrative Court
   
• Udom Rathamarit, a former dean of the Faculty of Law at Thammasat University and former member of the Council of State.
   
• Sumath Roygulcharoen, a former judge of the Administrative Court 
   

Earlier, Nakarin said there is a possibility that the court may begin its consideration of the audio clip on July 1. However, he added that the panel of judges must first review the documents thoroughly. The outcome of the initial deliberation could go one of two ways—either the court accepts the case or dismisses it.

He noted that it is not yet certain whether the court will issue an order on July 1, as this depends on document verification and the presence of a full quorum. Every session of the Constitutional Court requires the attendance of all nine judges.