Court weighs legality of 400bn baht emergency loan decree

Thailand’s Constitutional Court has ordered relevant agencies and individuals to submit written opinions and supporting evidence within seven days as it reviews the legality of the government’s 400 billion baht borrowing decree aimed at tackling the energy crisis and supporting the country’s energy transition.

The case stems from a petition by 133 MPs, representing not less than one-fifth of the current members of the House of Representatives, who asked the House Speaker to forward the matter to the Constitutional Court for a ruling. The MPs questioned whether the emergency decree complies with Section 172, paragraph one, of the Constitution.

The decree empowers the Finance Ministry to borrow funds to address the impact of the energy crisis and support Thailand’s energy transition. The petition was submitted to the court under Section 173, paragraph one, of the Constitution.

The Office of the Constitutional Court said the court had resolved that, for the benefit of its deliberation, relevant persons must prepare written opinions on the issues specified by the court and submit them together with related documents and evidence.

All information must be sent to the Constitutional Court within seven days from the date the official notification is received. The material will be used to support the court’s consideration and final ruling.

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Government calls court review normal procedure

Deputy Prime Minister for legal affairs Pakorn Nilprapunt said the court’s move to seek additional views from experts was a normal part of the judicial process and should not cause concern.

He said the government had already submitted all its explanations and did not need to provide further clarification at this stage.

Pakorn said he understood from the news reports that the Constitutional Court had asked four or five experts to submit additional academic opinions, which he described as a routine step in such cases.

He added that the government’s written explanation could not be disclosed because the matter was already within the court process.

On the next steps, Pakorn said the court would call a meeting after receiving the additional expert opinions to decide how to proceed. He stressed that the process was moving in line with normal procedure.

Asked whether the government remained concerned about the case, Pakorn said it was not worried. He said the point at which concern should have been greatest was before the decree was issued, because any government issuing a law must take responsibility for it.

He said the government remained confident that the situation at the time was urgent and necessary, and that the decree was intended to safeguard the country’s economic security.

At that point, he said, the government could not know how the situation would develop, while the country’s financial conditions were also under pressure.

Pakorn said the Finance Ministry, as the government’s main economic agency, should be trusted in assessing whether a situation affects national economic security. He added that it was easy to comment after circumstances had changed.