Constitutional Judicial Review Reform in Thailand

Abstract

This research examines ways to reform organizations with power over constitutional review in Thailand. The aim is to solve issues of impartiality, independence, and distortion affecting the overall constitutional structure.

Results were that the main power of the Constitutional Court is constitutional review in addition to complementary powers. The court, along with the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand 1997, was dissolved and replaced by a Constitutional Tribunal following the 2006 Thai coup d'état. Today, the Constitutional Court retains the power to review constitutionality, leading to many problems. Constitutional Court were so extended that they transgressed political boundaries to areas where other state bodies were assigned by rulings. This power was used to distort the Constitution, with the Constitutional Court exerting itself to dominate other constitutional organizations. These issues were not caused by judges of the Constitutional Court, but were rooted in constitutional provisions absolving the Constitutional Court from legal or political responsibility for consequences of its rulings. These characteristics led directly to distortions in enforcing the Constitution, which in part created ongoing problems in Thai politics.

When the Constitutional Court is charged with determining the constitutionality of a law, more legal and political complications are created than under previous systems. However, constitutional review remains important. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a form of fully conceptualized constitutional review to ensure that the system for determining constitutionality of laws is appropriate and compatible with Thai politics and society.