The former head of the 9-member Constitutional Court yesterday advised Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to seek royal permission to return the draft amendment regarding the composition of the Senate to the government.
The advice of the former head of the court Wasan Soiphisu came after the prime minister has earlier submitted the controversial legislation to the King for royal approval despite that it was still pending the ruling of the Constitutional Court of its constitutionality.
Her speedy submission of the legislation to the King raised strong criticism from the opposition as inappropriate as the legislation had problem and therefore should be held until the Constitutional Court’s ruling.
But several legal advisors of the prime minister came out to defend her submission saying if the prime minister did not submit the legislation to the King within 20 days after its passage from the Parliament, she would be found guilty of violating the Constitution. But the opposition argued that speedy submission before it was cleared of its constitutionality would only annoy His Majesty and inappropriate.
The former chief of the Constitutional Court Wasan said during an address at a special discussion “Judicial System and the Survival of the Country”, that the prime minister now has two choices to do.
He said that as the legislation regarding the composition of the Senate has been ruled unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court, it now became clear that all process regarding the composition of Senate was over.
He said now the legislation is in the consideration process of the Office of His Majesty’s Principal Private Secretary before proposing for royal endorsement.
He said the prime minister has two choices, to seek royal permission from His Majesty to return the legislation to the Government, or just keeping it there until it is returned by the Office of His Majesty’s Principal Private Secretary.
For himself, he said he guessed that this legislation would be returned to the Government by the Office.
He said that the legislation could not revive or do anything with it, adding it was over.
He said the Parliament could not stubbornly imply Article 151 of the Constitution to revive it as it was not the case which His Majesty has rejected the bill because it was in the consideration process of His Majesty’s Office of the Principal Private Secretary.
He said that after the court has reached the ruling, further legal action to take against those who pushed the passage of the bill was not stated by the Constitution that it is the duty of the Constitutional Court.
However he said that it is the duty of the National Anti Corruption Commission (NACC) to consider legal action as the ruling committed all government agencies to abide by.
The former court chief also commented that each step which this government was walking right now resembled the step of the former Nazi leader had walked in disabling the Parliament to remain in power. Instead of checking and balancing the power of the government, the legislative power now has come under the administration like its subordinate.
He said nowadays, democracy was exploited with just a claim of majority votes which could do even evil things to the country with no regard to minority voice.
This is not democracy, he said, adding that everybody must have discipline and maintain rules of law, and discipline now has to be taught and trained from childhood.
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