The Justice Administration Development of the Constitution Court of the Kingdom of Thailand

Abstract

Thailand has had twenty Constitutions since 1932. All Constitutions have confirmed the Supremacy of the Constitution concept; therefore, it is essential to have a constitutional review organ. Analyzing the function of organ; the judicial independence; the stability and the institutionalization taking into account the Thai social and culture aspects, the Constitutional Court is the best model for reviewing the constitutionality of law in Thailand. The justice administration development of the Constitutional Court of the Kingdom of Thailand consists of Man, Money, Material and the Case Management. Considering the Constitution 2017, the constitutional courts and the supreme courts of foreign countries, the result of the study reveals the conclusion as follows: 1. The organization and personnel administration. The Constitutional Court is the specialized court, so the judges should have expertise in public law. Therefore, the Constitutional Court structure should be reviewed. There should be two legal experts instead of one and there should be only one public administration expert instead of two. Moreover, the requirement for a person who is qualified to be selected as a constitutional court judge through the selection process should also be revised because too high requirement will cause a problem in future. In addition, the judges selected from the process of the previous Constitution (2007) have been in the same positions as provided by the current Constitution in accordance with the principle of judicial independence, good faith, and stability. Lastly, the supporting staffs should work within the Constitutional Research Institute where the efficient working system is welldeveloped. 2. The budget and material administration. The Constitutional Court should have its specific budget law. This law will guarantee the principle of judicial independence and avoid government intervention. The Constitutional Court should be able to propose the budget plan directly to the parliament. This approach is similar to the approach in German law, the Bundeshaushaltsordnung 1969 of the Constitutional Court of the Federal Republic of Germany. In addition, the Constitutional Court should implement a good practice, including the E-court system that would serve the right to access justice of the people in terms of convenience, quickness, and efficiency. 3. The case management administration. The Constitutional Court exercises its powers in the inquisitorial system and should have the rapporteur judge that works for check and balance among judge decision making including works for judgement draft and announcement. In addition, the contempt of court should be employed for the inquisitorial case process and for the advantage between parties. With these conclusions and recommendations, the justice administration of the Constitutional Court of the Kingdom of Thailand should be developed to increase the efficiency in protecting individual rights as well as public interests in order to maintain the rule of law and credibility of the Constitutional Court in Thailand.