Nidhi said that while all groups of people and professions in Thai society have a stake in Thai politics, the new draft charter seemed to make judges appear holy, impartial and above any vested interest.

"They can sneak into the political arena while maintaining a facade of being de-politicised and appear to be cleaner and altruistic," Nidhi said.

"The military can no longer hang on to power because the world would throw up at such a thought, so they're bringing in the judges. But if judges are to appoint people [with their new-found power] they will likely select people around them," said Nidhi, during a symposium on the draft charter organised by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the Thai Journalists Association and Thammasat University's Faculty of Law.

Well-known economist Prof Rangsan Tanaphornphan, of Thammasat University, said the draft constitution would lead to infringements of power by the executive, legislative and judicial branches "like never before", and would cause many problems.

Rangsan said the draft gave no clear direction for political reform, and given that judges would have unprecedented powers in appointing senators and members of the so-called independent organisations under the constitution - such as the Election Commission and the National Human Rights Commis-sion - problems were likely to follow.

"It will mean a return of the bureaucracy. I don't believe that a coup would lead to a democratic constitution, anyhow," he said, adding that last September's coup was an attempt to revive the power of government officials - including the military - as elected politicians had wrested power from them over the past 35 years.

Thammasat University's constitution law expert and law lecturer Vorachaet Phakeerat agreed. He said the draft charter had a big problem when it came to the separation of powers.

Allowing the judges to select and appoint senators "may be against the democratic principle", he said.

Ideas such as the creation of ad-hoc councils to solve a political crisis could itself "become an organisation that would cause a political crisis in itself, or make the crisis even more severe".

Vorachaet attacked the de facto amnesty for the military junta's actions granted under Article 299 of the draft charter, saying it was against the concept of the constitution - which is supposed to be the supreme law - as staging a coup was unconstitutional.

"It will be questioned whether the supreme law is really supreme or not."

One participant at the symposium said the whole affair of drafting a new charter under the auspices of the junta was like convicts playing sports under the watchful eyes of prison wardens.

"When they don't like it they will simply stop us," he said.

Pravit Rojanaphruk

The Nation