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The senior court also rejected a defence argument for an oral presentation of the opening statement, although it agreed to authorise the defence to gather and file additional evidence as deemed necessary.

The ruling against the oral statement was seen to pre-empt any attempt at theatrics. The high court allowed the opening statements for the defence and the prosecution to be submitted in written form.

In an earlier decision, the defence request for Thaksin to give his statement via video was also rejected. But his arguments will be accepted in writing.

For the upcoming testimony, the court instructed the defence and prosecution to file respec-tive lists of witnesses for exami-nation and cross-examination 15 days before each hearing.

Defence witnesses will testify first, before the prosecution's. Should witnesses fail to appear according to the schedule, each side is obligated to rearrange the order of appearances so as not to disrupt the timetable.

The defence is due to call 56 witnesses, while the prosecution will summon 58. Each side has about 25 court sessions.