2006 interim constitution of Thailand


The Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand, Buddhist Era 2549 was an interim constitution of Thailand enacted to replace the 1997 Constitution which was repealed by the Council for Democratic Reform after it seized power from the government of Thaksin Shinawatra in the 2006 Thailand coup. Released on 27 September 2006 and promulgated on 1 October 2006, the Constitution allowed the junta to retain significant control over the appointed civilian government and the drafting of a permanent constitution. The CDR would be transformed into a permanent Council for National Security and would appoint the head of the executive branch, the entire legislature, and the drafters of a permanent constitution. The Constitution made no mention of succession, instead leaving it to "constitutional practice." The draft came under strong public criticism as being a step backwards from the 1997 "People's Constitution". The constitution did not repeal junta bans restricting freedom of speech, assembly, and political activity; these bans were subsequently revoked by an act on 27 December 2006.
This interim constitution was replaced by the 2007 Constitution on 24 August 2007.

Drafting process

The junta appointed a legal panel to draft an interim charter. The team was led by former Senate speaker Meechai Ruchuphan, and originally included jurists Borwornsak Uwanno and Wissanu Krea-ngam. Both had played key roles in drafting the 1997 Constitution and had served under the deposed government, although they had resigned several months before the coup. Both resigned from the panel after public criticism that they were members of the ancien regime.
Thammasat vice-rector Prinya Thewanaruemitkul harshly criticized the two, saying that they were "not honourable enough to look after the democratic system." Both refused to play any further role with the military junta. After the draft charter was promulgated, Meechai resigned as chief drafter; the junta appointed Jaran Pakdithanakul, former secretary to the Supreme Court president, as his replacement.

Key features

The draft interim charter had 39 articles. Structurally, the draft interim charter was similar to the 1991 Constitution, the 1976 Constitution, and the 1959 Charter, in that it stipulated an extremely powerful executive branch which would appoint the entire legislature. The charter:
The draft interim charter met with harsh criticism. Key concerns included:
Banjerd Singkhaneti, of Thammasat University, noted of the process for drafting a permanent constitution, "I think it will be a mess and the next constitution will be just that." Charoen Khumpeeraparp, of Silpakorn University, criticized the charter for protecting human rights according to commitments made under international treaties, claiming that it would not allow persecution of figures in the deposed government. Charoen claimed that no other countries let international commitments influence their local laws.
However, the draft interim charter did call for one democratic innovation: it required that a permanent constitution would have to be ratified by public referendum. This innovation was suggested in the draft 1974 Constitution, but was rejected by the royally-appointed Constitutional Convention. Nonetheless, the referendum proposal too has been condemned, as if the draft is rejected then under section 32 of the interim charter it is returned to the junta, which will write a constitution of its own in consultation with the Council of Ministers.
The interim charter was also criticized for being drafted without considering the views of the public. Meechai Ruchuphan, chief legal advisor for the junta, had earlier promised to heed opposing legal opinions. Komsan Phokong, Charoen Kampheeraphap, and Sasatra Toon had then sought and received the permission from the junta to present an alternative draft charter comprising 72 articles. "Meechai had promised to heed opposing legal opinions but failed to honour his word," Komsan said. Sasatra said Meechai acted like he was trying to perpetuate the power of the junta.
On 28 September, 6 scholars from Chiang Mai University and Midnight University protested the draft interim charter by dressing in black and tearing a mock-up of the draft in a press conference. The 6 included historian Nidhi Eawseewong, Worawit Charoenlert, Somchai Preecha-silpakul, Chatchawan Boonpan, Kriengsak Chetwattanawanich and Somkiat Tangnamo. The was later shut down in response.
Thitinan Pongsudhirak of Chulalongkorn University noted that the charter was "alarming" and that "The problem for the military is that they are in deep now. They haven't done what they set out to do, which was to get rid of Thaksin, hand over power to a civilian government and step aside. They have not stepped aside."
Suriyasai Katasila, a key member of the anti-Thaksin People's Alliance for Democracy, criticized the charter for not containing restrictions which would bar seats in the National Legislative Assembly from former members and affiliates of Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party.
Khomsan Phokhong, of Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, demanded greater public participation in the charter-drafting process as well as restrictions against participation by members and affiliates of the Thai Rak Thai party. Somkhid Lertphaithoon, Deputy Rector of Thammasat University, demanded that the junta directly appoint 100 members to the Constitution Drafting Assembly rather than rely on a 2000-member National Assembly. He also called the interim constitution the best of its kind although he was disappointed it did not include a mission statement.
Somchai Siripreechakul, Dean of Law at Chiang Mai University, urged Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont to call a general election as soon as possible and hand the task of drafting a charter to the elected parliament.
The International Herald Tribune noted that the interim charter "appears to buttress the military's role in Thai politics."
Among human rights groups, the Hong Kong-based regional body the Asian Human Rights Commission has issued a series of statements condemning the interim charter as a work of "constitutional fiction".

Permanent constitution

In December, the 2,000-member junta-appointed National Assembly elected 200 of its members as candidates for the Constitution Drafting Assembly. The voting was fraught with irregularities. The candidate with the highest number of votes was Okas Tepalakul from Chachoengsao province, a virtually unknown car dealership owner who was a former classmate of junta-head Sonthi Boonyaratglin. BMW Thailand executive Pharani Leenuthapong received the second highest number of votes. The controversial selection also saw Suwit Pipatwilaikul, a little-known Nong Bua Lamphu construction contractor who received the third highest number of votes. There were no representatives of farmers or workers in the final selection. Of the 200 final nominees, the nominee that received the lowest number of votes received just 7 votes. Assembly-member Maj Pol Gen Krerk Kalayanimitr claimed that some votes may have been bought. Of the 200 nominees, 74 were public sector bureaucrats, 34 were academics, 38 were from the social sector, and 54 were from the private sector.
The voting itself was full of irregularities. Members were lobbied in front of toilets and many Assembly-members marked their ballots before entering the polling booths. A soldier guarding the entrance to the Parliament stopped a woman carrying 400,000 baht in cash. She refused to say why she was carrying so much money.
In December, junta chief Sonthi Boonyaratglin issued several guidelines for the permanent constitution being drafted by the CNS's drafting body. These included:
He also made several suggestions, including:
Sonthi later denied dictating the content for the new constitution, but stated "We can't force them to do things but responsible people will know what the constitution should look like."