Courts to select tribunal judges
The country's two top courts will vote today to name a total of seven judges to sit concurrently on the bench of a tribunal to rule on constitutional cases until a new charter is drafted.
Under the interim provisions, the Constitution Tribunal will be made up of five judges from the Supreme Court and two from the Supreme Administrative Court. Preecha Thanomrawd, president of the Supreme Court, and his Supreme Administrative Court counterpart Akarathorn Chularat are head and deputy head of the tribunal. A total of 103 judges - 87 from the Supreme Court and 16 from the Supreme Administrative Court - are eligible for secondment to the tribunal. As of yesterday, about 30 Supreme Court judges had voluntarily withdrawn from the selection process. The tribunal is expected to hear a major electoral-fraud case stemming from the April 2 election. The case centres on the alleged bankrolling of small parties. It involves five political parties including Thai Rak Thai and the Democrats. If found guilty, any offending party faces dissolution. Party executives involved will be banned from holding office and contesting elections for five years.
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