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Urgent: Constitution Court acquits Democrats

Flashermac

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The Constitution Court ruled in favour of the Democrat Party and rejected the Election Commission's request to dissolve the party.

 

The court reasoned the suit was unlawful as the political party registrar had not observed proper legal procedures and the court did have to interpret other legal aspects.

 

As a result the court rejected the suit.

 

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Breaking news in The Nation. Expect the [color:red]red shirts[/color] to go wild! :)

 

 

 

 

 

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As I see it, the court voted not to accept the suit since it had been filed improperly. The Democrat Party has certainly not been found innocent of the charge. What's to stop the Election Committee from filing a second time and doing it properly? :hmmm:

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's a stall to keep the present government in to keep the country stable until they have elections later. Bet they'll have another shot that will not be done until after the next election.

 

I am sure though that neither the red nor yellow shirts will refrain from causing some sort of major trouble soon again. Coup anyone? :susel::stirthepo:dunno::crazy:

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Democrats off the hook

 

 

Speculation is rife that the Democrat Party will also win the case against it of an alleged illegal donation after the Constitution Court spared it from dissolution by dismissing a charge of misuse of an election grant.

 

Six Constitution Court judges yesterday voted 4:2 to drop the case in which the party was accused by the Election Commission of misusing a 29 million baht grant from the EC during its campaigning for the April 2, 2005, general election.

 

[color:red]The four judges who decided to throw out the case argued that the EC chairman, as the political party registrar, had failed - as required under the Political Parties Act - to submit the case to the court within 15 days of being notified that the grant might have been misused.[/color]

 

A source from the Constitution Court said the two judges who voted against dismissing the case were Chat Cholaworn, the court president, and Boonsong Kulbuppa.

 

The judges said the allegation that the party misused the grant came to the attention of the political parties registrar on Dec 17 last year, but the registrar only submitted the case to the court on April 26 this year.

 

This went beyond the 15-day time frame for submission of the case. This meant the move to dissolve the Democrats was unlawful and therefore there was no need to deliberate the rest of the legal issues related to the case, the judges said.

 

Ex-PM Chuan Leekpai, the head of the Democrats' defence team, made the closing statement on behalf of the party. Kittinant Thachpramuk, public prosecutor in charge of special litigation, made the closing statement on behalf of the EC.

 

[color:red]Parinya Thewanarumitkul, deputy rector of Thammasat University, said the EC's failure to comply with the 15-day time frame was unexpected and was an important lesson for the EC.[/color]

 

Even though the case has now been dropped, members of the public are still in the dark over whether the Democrat Party had actually misused the grant, Mr Parinya said.

 

He said the court ruling yesterday might have implications on the other case in which the Democrat Party is accused of receiving an undisclosed donation of 258 million baht from cement giant TPI Polene.

 

Mr Parinya said the Democrat-led coalition government would face mounting pressure from its opponents, including the red shirt movement and the Puea Thai Party, now the court has spared it from dissolution.

 

He said the charter court has freed itself from any predicament as the pressure has been shifted to the EC, which failed to submit the case in time.

 

[color:red]Komsan Photikong, a law lecturer at Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, said the EC's procedures seeking the dissolution of the party were unlawful from the beginning.[/color]

 

The Constitution Court judges' decision to dismiss the case against the Democrat Party was right and legitimate, Mr Komsan said.

 

He agreed that anti-government protests would intensify as the government's opponents were disgruntled with the court's decision.

 

Bandit Siriphan, a member of the Democrat Party's defence team, said he would ask the Constitution Court to consider dismissing the case involving the alleged illegal donation from TPI Polene as the EC had also failed to submit the case in time as required by law. The 15-day time frame and the proceedings in the case involving the 29 million baht grant were based on Section 93 of the constitution.

 

But Thanapit Moolapruek, director-general of the Office of the Attorney-General's special litigation department, said the flaws in the case involving the 29 million baht grant would not be repeated in the 258 million baht donation allegation as the grounds to proceed in these two cases were different.

 

"These two cases differ in nature and in legal technicalities and legal proceedings. The Office of the Attorney-General has submitted the case involving the 258 million baht donation itself," Mr Thanapit said.

 

EC commissioner Somchai Juengprasert admitted the EC may have to review its role as an organisation following the court's decision.

 

He said EC members may raise the issue for discussion at today's meeting to find out why things turned out the way they had.

 

Senator for Si Sa Ket Jittipoj Wiriyaroj, who chairs a senate committee on constitutional organisations, said some legal experts and members of the public still questioned why the court ruling focused on only one legal technicality and then decided to drop the case.

 

He called on the judges to disclose their reasons for dismissing the charge of misuse of the fund money to dispel lingering public doubt.

 

 

 

BP

 

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Opposition considers fresh legal challenge

 

 

 

The opposition Puea Thaksin Party is considering filing a new lawsuit against the Democrat Party asking the Constitution Court to consider whether the ruling party had misused a 29 million baht election grant.

 

The court did not consider this aspect in its dismissal of the case against the Democrats yesterday.

 

Puea Thaksin said the court's decision to dismiss the case had been expected. Party spokesman Prompong Nopparit said there were signs the Democrats would not be dissolved before the Constitution Court brought down its ruling.

 

These included remarks by Banyat Bantadtan, a Democrat list MP, that the Constitution Court would vote 4:2 in favour of his party.

 

Mr Banyat's prediction was accurate because of his "special intuition", Mr Prompong said.

 

The spokesman said Puea Thaksin's legal team would meet today to discuss the case and another potential case against the Democrat Party, which is related to the alleged unlawful receipt of a 258 million baht donation from TPI Polene Plc.

 

The party will decide whether to ask the Constitution Court to look into the Democrats' conduct and make a ruling on whether it misspent the 29 million baht fund.

 

[color:red]"The Constitution Court has not yet considered whether the Democrat Party was guilty," Mr Prompong said.

 

"It has only ruled that the legal process [of bringing the case] against the party was unlawful."[/color]

 

Puea Thaksin list MP and leader of the red shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship Jatuporn Prompan said the UDD had not decided how it would react to yesterday's court ruling as its legal team was still studying the verdict.

 

Chalerm Yubamrung, leader of Puea Thaksin MPs, said the verdict would benefit his party as it would highlight the issue during the next election campaign.

 

"The Democrats' image has got worse; the longer it survives, the worse its image is, especially on corruption-related issues," he said.

 

Pol Lt Col Somchai Petprasert, a deputy leader of the Puea Thaksin Party and Nakhon Ratchasima MP, said his party would talk about this case while canvassing for a seat in the House in a by-election on Dec 12 in Khon Kaen, where his party is facing off against the Democrats.

 

However, the party's candidate and other politicians would have to be careful not to commit contempt of court or to defame individuals involved in the case, he said.

 

Worawat Ua-apinyakul, Puea Thaksin MP for Phrae, said many people had expected the Constitution Court not to dissolve the Democrat Party.

 

"We now have to ask society: What should we do with the court's ruling?" he said.

 

[color:red]"Wrongdoers have not been punished. They have misspent people's money in the stock market. It is immoral. This ruling could cause other countries to lose trust and confidence in Thailand."[/color]

 

 

 

BP

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