The Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand, Buddhist Era 2550 (2007) (; ) was the constitution of Thailand which was in effect from 2007 to 2014.
On 19 September 2006, the Royal Thai Armed Forces staged a coup d'état against then prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, abrogated the 1997 constitution and formed a junta called Council for Democratic Reform (CDR). The 2006 interim constitution was then promulgated by King Bhumibol Adulyadej upon advice of the CDR leader, General Sonthi Boonyaratglin. The interim constitution established a Constitutional Convention (CC) and charged it with the duty to draft a new constitution before presenting the draft to the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), a legislature replacing the National Assembly abrogated by the CDR. The CC set up a constituent committee to draw up the draft. The committee consisted of thirty five members, of whom 25 were selected by the CC itself and the other 10 were selected by the CC upon advice of the CDR.
After the draft was approved by the CC and the NLA respectively, a national referendum was organised by the Election Commission on 19 August 2007, allowing the people to approve or deny the entire draft. 56.69 percent of the voters voted in favor of the draft, 41.37 percent voted against it and 1.94 percent were invalid votes. King Bhumibol Adulyadej signed it into law on 24 August 2007 and it came into force immediately.
Two amendments were made to this constitution, both in 2011. The first amendment modified the composition of the House of Representatives. The second revised the criteria governing the conclusion of treaties.
On 22 May 2014, the National Council for Peace and Order, a military junta which staged a coup d'état against the caretaker government, repealed the constitution, save the second chapter which concerns the king. The constitution was repealed and replaced by an interim constitution on 22 July 2014.
2006 Interim constitution
On 19 September 2006, a military junta seized power from the interim caretaker government of Thaksin Shinawatra and abrogated the Constitution of Thailand. It later established an interim constitution which specified a process for drafting the permanent constitution. The interim constitution:
Prohibits the 100 members of the CC from being current members of a political party or being members of a political party for the previous 2 years (Art. 19) Spells out the peer-vote of a 2,000 member NLA to elect 200 candidates for the CC. Each member can vote for no more than three members, those nominated with the most votes will win. In the case of tied votes, which result in more than 200 winners, the winners will be decided by drawing lots. The peer-vote must complete in seven days (Art. 22). Empowers the CDR to pick 100 of 200 CC candidates for royal approval (Art. 22). Empowers the CDR to appoint a 100 member CC if the NLA fails to complete its selection within seven days (Art. 23) Empowers the 100 CC members to appoint 25 members of a constituent committee who may not be CC members. The CDR will appoint another 10 members. (Art. 25) Forces the constituent committee to explain the differences between its draft and the 1997 constitution. Forces the committee to present drafts to major state agencies and universities. Forces the committee to promote and hold public hearings (Art. 26). Allows half the members of the NLA to submit amendments to the constitution (Art. 27) Gives the constituent committee 30 days to compile feedback and amendments and compile a report stating why such amendments were accepted or rejected. The report will be presented to the CC for review along with the constitution for approval. Further amendments require a vote of 3/5's the membership of the CC (Art. 28) Sets the 180-day deadline to complete the charter drafting before organising the referendum on the new charter within 30 days. The referendum will be managed by the CC (Art. 29) Sets the 45-day deadline for the drafting of organic laws and bans the CDR members, NLA members and those involved in charter writing from contesting the general election and the senatorial race for two years (Art. 30) Allows the CDR and Cabinet, chaired by the CDR Chairman, to select any previous constitution and revise it for use if the constituent committee's draft is not approved by public referendum or the CC does not approve the constitution (Art. 32)
Criticism of the drafting process The drafting process met harsh public criticism. Key concerns included: The lack of controls for the drafting of a permanent constitution. Under Interim Constitution articles 19 and 21, the CDR would appoint a 2000-member NLA which would in seven days have to select 200 of its members to be candidates for the CC. Under charter articles 22 and 24, the CDR would select 100 of those candidates for royal appointment to the CC; it would also select its own president. The CC would then appoint 25 of its members as constitution writers, with the CDR directly appointing 10 writers. This process effectively gave the junta complete control over the permanent constitution. The lack of controls to prevent members of the CDR, its panels, or its committees from running in future elections. Under charter article 30, only the head of the CDR is banned. The use of an old charter if the permanent constitution not completed by a CDR-set deadline. The specific charter to revert to was not specified - the CDR and the Cabinet would choose which of Thailand's 16 previous charters to use. Many critics called for the use of the 1997 constitution.
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.Bangkok Post, Draft charter loopholes can 'resurrect Thaksin regime', 28 September 2006
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.
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 CC rather than rely on a 2000-member NLA. He also called the interim constitution the best of its kind although he was disappointed it did not include a mission statement.The Nation, Academics: no consensus , 2 October 2006
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 Nation, Poll should precede new charter: law experts , 2 October 2006
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".Asian Human Rights Commission, THAILAND: MILITARY COUP - Constitutional fictions , 9 October 2006; see also THAILAND: MILITARY COUP - How to make courts independent? , 6 October 2006; THAILAND: MILITARY COUP - The right man for what job? , 4 October 2006
Federation for Democracy chairman Weng Tojirakarn called the new constitution as, "a joke drafted by a council of puppets."The Nation, Thumbs down for the next charter , 15 January 2007
With the draft facing mounting criticism, Premier Surayud promised that if the draft were approved on 19 August, he would hold national elections as early as 25 November 2007 (instead of September, as promised immediately after the coup, or late December, as later promised by the junta).The Nation, NOV 25 ELECTION POSSIBLE , 21 June 2007
Drafting process
Junta guidelines In December, junta chief Sonthi Boonyaratglin issued several guidelines for the permanent constitution being drafted by the CDR's drafting body. These included: Restricting a prime minister to serving a maximum of two terms of office Preventing a government from acting as a caretaker administration after dissolving parliament. Making it easier to launch a no-confidence debate against the prime minister. Whereas the 1997 constitution required 200 out of the house's 500 MPs to launch a no-confidence debate against the prime minister, Sonthi demanded that 100 MPs be sufficient.
He also made several suggestions, including: Transforming the senate from an all-elected body in order to prevent relatives of politicians from being elected and thus perverting the non-partisan intent of the 1997 constitution. Allowing politicians to switch political parties at any time. The 1997 constitution required that any candidate for the house belong to a political party for 90 days before the registration date for an election. Banning the merger of political parties.The Nation, Sonthi issues guidelines for new charter , 17 December 2006
He also suggested that the term in office of village heads and kamnan be increased from 5 to 10 years, while the role of elected tambon administrative organisations be reduced.The Nation, Sonthi idea 'contrary to democracy' , 25 December 2006
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."The Nation, No dictation on the charter: CDR chief , 20 December 2006
General Saprang Kalayanamitr, junta assistant secretary-general, noted that military coups against the government "should never be ruled out." The abrogated 1997 constitution had outlawed coups.Bangkok Post, Military coups 'should never be ruled out', 8 March 2007The Nation, Coup could recur, says Saprang, 8 March 2007
Despite repeated denials from the junta, public opinion persisted that the junta would enable their post-election grip on power via the clauses of the new constitution.The Nation, Army's record spurs suspicion , 16 March 2007
Selection of drafters
Initial selection In December, the 2,000-member NLA elected 200 of its members as candidates for the CC. The voting was fraught with irregularities. The candidate with most 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 who received the lowest number of votes received just seven votes. CC 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.Bangkok Post, 200 shortlisted to draft new charter, 19 December 2006The Nation, Eyebrows raised over CC selections , 19 December 2006