แนวทางส่งเสริมสำนึกทางกฎหมายของประชาชนต่อการมีส่วนร่วมในการตรวจสอบการทำงาน ของเทศบาลเมืองสีคิ้ว จังหวัดนครราชสีมา

Abstract

               The purpose of this research is to discover the role of the law as it relates to public participation in the monitoring of local administrations, people’s legal consciousness, and the provision of guidelines for the enhancement of people’s legal consciousness in Sikhiu Town Municipality, Nakhon Ratchasima province. This qualitative research is a phenomenon study. The data was collected through in-depth interviews with eighteen people, who were divided into five groups and a focus group. The information gathering was done by six people who had previous experience in this type of activity. A content analysis was employed to analyze the data. The results are summarized below.

         The law on public participation in the monitoring of the local administration has the smallest role of all five types of participation. Concerning the nature of people’s legal consciousness, the results show that all of the leaders of the community have greater participation in the monitoring than does the general population. There are three methods in which people in general can express their legal consciousness: 1) by legal means; 2) by non-legal means with an element of participation in the monitoring; and 3) by non-legal means without any element of participation.

         The guidelines for the enhancement of people’s legal consciousness consist of two elements. Firstly, the local government should continuously and thoroughly inform the people of what the local government will do through its sound-broadcasting. Secondly, the local government should educate people about the duties of the local government and programs for public participation. This effort must start with the local leaders, because they have an important role in the community, and they are in contact with both the local office and the community at large. The process of educating people can be initiated by setting up training projects for local administrations on the subject of providing courses to the public relating to public participation. These could be organized by the local administration itself, or in collaboration with other local offices in nearby areas. Training projects or workshops can eventually be arranged for ordinary people.