Thailand Constitution of the Kingdom Sections (248-261)
CHAPTER 13
STATE ATTORNEY ORGAN
Section 248. The State Attorney Organ has the duties and powers as provided in the Constitution and laws.
State attorneys are independent in considering and making orders in cases and in performing duties expeditiously and justly and without any prejudice, and such act shall not be deemed an administrative order.
The personnel management, budgetary affairs and other acts of the State Attorney Organ shall be independent, with a specific system of salary and remuneration as may be appropriate. The personnel management in relation with State attorneys shall be carried out by the State Attorney Committee, which shall at least consist of the Chairperson who is not a State attorney and qualified members selected by State attorneys; at least two of such qualified members shall not be or have been State attorneys, as provided by law.
The law under paragraph three shall contain measures to prevent State attorneys from carrying out any act or holding any position which may cause the making of orders in cases or the performance of duties to be not in accordance with paragraph two, or may cause conflict of interest. In this regard, such measures shall be prescribed explicitly and be of general application without any delegation of power to consider the matters on case-by-case basis.
CHAPTER 14
LOCAL ADMINISTRATION
Section 249. Subject to section 1, local administration shall be organized in accordance with the principle of self-government according to the will of the people in the locality, as per the procedure and form of local administrative organizations as provided by law.
In establishing a local administrative organization in any form, due regard shall be had to the will of the people in the locality together with the capacity for self-government in respect of revenues, number and density of the population, as well as areas under its responsibility.
Section 250. A local administrative organization has the duties and powers to regulate and provide public services and public activities for the benefits of the people in the locality, in accordance with the principle of sustainable development, and to promote and support the provision of education for the people in the locality, as provided by law.
Provision of any public service and public activity that should be the specific duty and power of each form of local administrative organization or should be carried out mainly by a local administrative organization, shall be as provided by law. The law shall be consistent with the revenues of the local administrative organization under paragraph four. Such law shall at least contain provisions relating to mechanisms and processes for decentralization of duties and powers as well as budget and personnel related thereto of the government sector to the local administrative organization.
In providing any public service, or carrying out any public activity, which is within the duties and powers of a local administrative organization, if joint operation with a private organization or a State agency, or delegation of operation to a private organization or a State agency will be more beneficial to the people in the locality than operation by that local administrative organization, the local administrative organization may operate jointly with or delegate the operation to a private organization or a State agency.
The State shall undertake to ensure that local administrative organizations have revenues of their own by establishing an appropriate system of taxation and allocation of taxes, as well as promoting and developing means for earning revenues of local administrative organizations. In order to ensure the sufficient implementation of paragraph one, during the period in which the undertaking has not yet been possible, the State shall allocate budget to support local administrative organizations for the time being.
The law under paragraph one and the law relating to local administration shall provide for independence of local administrative organizations in respect of management, provision of public services, promotion and support of education, public finance, and for the supervision and monitoring of local administrative organizations which may be done only insofar as is necessary to protect the interests of the people in the locality or the interests of the country as a whole to prevent corruption and for the efficient spending of funds, while having regard to the suitability and difference of each form of local administrative organizations. Such laws shall also contain provisions on prevention of conflict of interest and prevention of interference to the performance of duties of local officials.
Section 251. The personnel management of local administrative organizations shall be as provided by law, provided that a merit system shall be adopted and due regard shall be had to suitability to and necessity of each locality and each form of local administrative organization, and conformity of standards, with a view to enabling mutual development and personnel reassignment among local administrative organizations.
Section 252. Members of a local assembly shall be elected. Local administrators shall be elected or shall be installed by the approval of a local assembly, or in the case of special form of local administrative organization, may be by any other means, provided that due regard shall also be had to public participation, as provided by law.
The qualifications of persons having the right to vote and persons having the right to stand for election and rules and procedures on election of members of local assemblies and local administrators shall be as provided by law, provided that due regard shall also be had to the intent to prevent and suppress corruption in accordance with the directive principles provided in the Constitution.
Section 253. In the performance of work, local administrative organizations, local assemblies and local administrators shall disclose information and report the result of performance to the public, and shall also establish mechanisms to enable the participation of people in the locality, in accordance with the rules and procedures prescribed by law.
Section 254. Persons having the right to vote in a local administrative organization have the right to sign a joint petition for introducing an ordinance or for removing a member of a local assembly or a local administrator in accordance with the rules, procedures and conditions prescribed by law.
CHAPTER 15
AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION
Section 255. An amendment to the Constitution which amounts to changing the democratic regime of government with the King as Head of State or changing the form of the State shall be prohibited.
Section 256. Subject to section 255, amendment to the Constitution may be made under the rules and procedures as follows:
(1) a motion for amendment must be proposed either by the Council of Ministers, or by Members of the House of Representatives comprising not less than one-fifth of the total number of existing Members of the House of Representatives, or by members of both Houses comprising not less than one- fifth of the total number of existing members thereof, or by not less than fifty thousand persons who have the right to vote as per the law on the public submission of a bill;
(2) a motion for amendment must be proposed in the form of a draft Constitution Amendment to the National Assembly, and the National Assembly shall consider it in three readings;
(3) voting in the first reading for adoption of principle shall be by roll call and open voting, and the amendment must be approved by the votes of not less than one-half of the total number of existing members of both Houses, provided that in this number, Senators comprising not less than one-third of the total number of existing members of the Senate must vote for approval;
(4) in the second reading for section- by-section deliberation, voting in the second reading shall be decided by a majority of votes, but in the case where the draft Constitution Amendment is proposed by the people, the persons signing the petition shall also be given opportunities to express their opinions;
(5) at the conclusion of the second reading, there shall be an interval of fifteen days after which the National Assembly shall proceed with its third reading;
(6) voting in the third and final reading shall be by roll call and open voting, and promulgation of the Constitution must be approved by the votes of more than one-half of the total number of the existing members of both Houses, provided that in this number, Members of the House of Representatives from political parties whose members do not hold the positions of Minister, President or Vice-President of the House of Representatives must vote for approval in the number of not less than twenty per cent of the total number of members of all such political parties combined, and Senators comprising not less than one-third of the total number of existing members of the Senate must vote for approval;
(7) after resolution of approval has been passed under (6), there shall be an interval of fifteen days after which the draft Constitution Amendment shall be presented to the King, and the provisions of section 81 shall apply mutatis mutandis;
(8) in the case where the draft Constitution Amendment is an amendment to Chapter 1 General Provisions, Chapter 2 The King or Chapter 15 Amendment to the Constitution, or a matter relating to qualifications and prohibitions of persons holding the positions under the Constitution, or a matter relating to duties or powers of the Court or an Independent Organ, or a matter which renders the Court or an Independent Organ unable to act in accordance with its duties or powers, before proceeding in accordance with (7) , a referendum shall be held in accordance with the law on referendum, and if the referendum result is to approve the draft Constitution Amendment, further proceedings shall then be taken in accordance with (7);
(9) before the Prime Minister reports to the King for signature pursuant to (7), Members of the House of Representatives, Senators or members of both Houses comprising not less than one-tenth of the total number of existing members of each House or of both Houses, as the case may be, have the right to sign a joint petition submitting their opinions to the President of the House in which they are members or the President of the National Assembly, as the case may be, that the draft Constitution Amendment under (7) is contrary to section 255 or is of the characteristic under (8) . The President of the House who receives such petition shall submit the opinions to the Constitutional Court. The Constitutional Court shall render a decision within thirty days from the date the petition is received. While the petition is under consideration for decision by the Constitutional Court, the Prime Minister may not present such a draft Constitution Amendment to the King for signature.
CHAPTER16
NATIONAL REFORM
Section 257. National reform under this Chapter must be carried out to achieve the following objectives:
(1) the nation enjoys peace and order, unity and solidarity, sustainable development in accordance with the philosophy of sufficiency economy, and a balance between material and spiritual development;
(2) the society is peaceful and fair, and provides comparable opportunities to eliminate disparity;
(3) the people are happy, have good quality of life, and participate in development of the country and the democratic regime of government with the King as Head of State.
Section 258. National reform in various areas shall be carried out to at least achieve the following results:
- Politics:
(1) ensuring that the people have correct knowledge and understanding on the democratic regime of government with the King as Head of State, that the people participate in the organization of political activities as well as the scrutiny of exercise of State powers, that they are able to tolerate different bona fide political views, and that the people exercise the right to vote in an election and in a referendum independently and free from influence by any means;
(2) ensuring that activities of political parties are organized in an open and transparent manner to enable political parties to develop into political institutions of the people who share a common political ideology, and have clear and concrete processes to ensure that members of political parties truly participate and are accountable for political activities and the selection of persons with knowledge, competence, integrity and good morality and ethics to be persons holding political positions;
(3) having a mechanism to determine accountability of a political party for promoting policies that have not been subjected to a thorough assessment of impact, cost-effectiveness and risk;
(4) having a mechanism that requires persons holding political positions to perform duties with integrity and to be held accountable to the public in the performance of their duties;
(5) having a mechanism to resolve political conflicts by peaceful means in accordance with the democratic regime of government with the King as Head of State;
- Administration of State Affairs:
(1) ensuring that suitable technology is applied to the administration of State affairs and provision of public services for the benefit of the administration of State affairs and for the convenience of the people;
(2) integrating databases of all State agencies to provide a data system for the administration of State affairs and the provision of services to the people;
(3) improving and developing the structure and system for the management of State operations and manpower planning for the public sector to promptly respond to changes and new challenges, provided that the undertakings must be carried out in a manner compatible with the different missions of each State agency;
(4) improving and developing personnel management of the public sector with a view to incentivizing persons genuinely having knowledge and competence to work in State agencies and to be able to attain career advancement in accordance with each person’s competence and achievements, be persons of integrity with courage to make decisions and act righteously while having more regard to public interest than to personal interest, and be creative persons capable of developing new innovations for the purpose of efficiency in the discharge of official functions and administration of State affairs, and having measures to protect personnel in the public sector from abuse of power by their superior officials;
(5) improving the procurement system of the public sector so as to be flexible, open and transparent with a mechanism to prevent corruption at every stage;
- Law:
(1) having a mechanism for revising laws, regulations, rules or bylaws in force prior to the date of promulgation of this Constitution so as to be consistent with the principles under section 77, and to develop them to be in conformity with universal standards, by providing for the application of permit systems and committee systems only insofar as is necessary for flexibility in the performance of functions, with a clear responsible authority and without imposing undue burden on the people, to increase competitiveness of the country and to prevent dishonest acts and wrongful conducts;
(2) reforming the system of legal learning, instruction and education with a view to developing legal practitioners into well-informed persons who have a legal mindset and who adhere to the morality and ethics of lawyers;
(3) developing a legal database system of the State by using various technologies with a view to enabling the public to conveniently access legal information and to easily understand the substances of the laws;
(4) establishing a mechanism to give assistance to the people in the preparation and proposal of draft laws;
- Justice Process:
(1) ensuring that time limits for justice process at every stage are clearly specified so that justice is delivered to the people without delay, and that there is a mechanism to aid persons with insufficient means in having access to justice process, as well as the establishment of a mechanism for strict enforcement of law with a view to reducing disparity and injustice in society;
(2) improving the system of criminal inquiry by providing a proper check and balance between inquiry officials and State attorneys, by clearly specifying time limits for the performance of duties of all relevant officials so as to avoid the preclusion of action by prescription and to promote public trust in the performance of duties of inquiry officials and State attorneys in the course of criminal inquiry, as well as by requiring the use of forensic science in an inquiry and providing forensic science service through more than one agency which are independent of each other to ensure that the public has alternatives to such services for the proving of facts;
(3) promoting and developing the organizational culture of relevant organizations in the justice process with a view to facilitating convenient and expeditious justice for the people;
(4) enforcing laws efficiently by making appropriate amendments and revisions to the law relating to duties, powers and missions of the police, and amending and revising the law relating to personnel management of police officials to secure efficiency, to guarantee that police officials receive appropriate remuneration, that appointment and transfer thereof are handled with fairness, and that the consideration of allowances and merits is done clearly in accordance with a merit system; in the consideration for appointment and transfer, regard must be had to seniority in combination with knowledge and competence in order that police officials can perform the duties independently, without being under the mandate of any person, efficiently, and with pride in the performance of their duties;
- Education:
(1) ensuring the commencement of care and development of young children prior to education under section 54 paragraph two with a view to developing their physical body, mind, discipline, emotion, society and intelligence in accordance with their age free of charge;
(2) completing the enactment of a law for the establishment of a fund under section 54 paragraph six within one year from the date of promulgation of this Constitution;
(3) having a mechanism and a system for producing, screening and developing teaching professionals and instructors to engender a spiritual mindset of being a teacher, to possess genuine knowledge and competence, and to receive remunerations appropriate to their teaching competence and efficiency, as well as having a mechanism to promote a merit system in the personnel management of teaching professionals;
(4) improving learning and instruction at every level so that students are able to study according to their aptitudes, and improving the structure of relevant agencies with a view to uniformly achieving such a goal at both national level and local level;
- Economy:
(1) eliminating obstacles and promoting the competitiveness of the country in order that the nation and the people benefit from participation in various economic groups in a sustainable and resilient manner;
(2) establishing a mechanism to promote and support the application of creative ideas and modern technology in the economic development of the country;
(3) improving the taxation system with a view to promoting fairness, reducing disparity, increasing State revenues from various sources in an efficient manner, and improving the system for preparing and expending budgets to be efficient and effective;
(4) establishing a mechanism to promote cooperatives and business operators of all sizes to ensure their appropriate competitiveness and to promote social enterprises and environment- friendly enterprises, as well as establishing a mechanism to increase opportunities for employment and occupation of the people;
- Other Areas:
(1) having a water resource management system which is efficient, fair and sustainable, with due regard given to every dimension of water demand in combination with environmental and climate change;
(2) ensuring a fair distribution of land holding, as well as an examination of ownership and holding of land throughout the country with a view to systematically solving the problems of land ownership and possessory rights;
(3) establishing a system for managing and disposing of solid waste in an efficient and environment-friendly manner, and for recovering such waste for use for other purposes;
(4) adjusting the health security system in order that the people are granted comparable rights and benefits from the management thereof and from access to quality and convenient service;
(5) establishing a primary health care system in which there are family physicians to care for the people in an appropriate proportion.
Section 259. Subject to section 260 and section 261, national reform under this Chapter shall be in accordance with the law on plans and processes for implementation of national reform, which must at least contain procedures for the preparation of plans, participation by the public and relevant agencies, processes for implementing national reform, the evaluation of results of implementation, and a time period for implementing every area of the national reform. Such law shall stipulate that the implementation of each area of reform shall commence within one year from the date of promulgation of this Constitution, as well as stipulate the outcomes expected to be achieved within a period of five years.
The enactment of the law under paragraph one and the promulgation thereof shall be executed within one hundred and twenty days from the date of promulgation of this Constitution.
While the law under paragraph one has not yet come into force, State agencies shall implement the reforms based upon their existing duties and powers for the time being.
Section 260. In the amendment to and revision of laws under section 258 d. justice process (4), there shall be one committee appointed by the Council of Ministers consisting of:
(1) a qualified member with evident knowledge, integrity and equity who has never been a police official, as the Chairperson;
(2) persons who are or were police officials, which must at least include the Commissioner- General of the Royal Thai Police, in the number prescribed by the Council of Ministers, as members;
(3) qualified members with evident knowledge, integrity and equity, and who have not been police officials, in the same number as the members under (2), as members;
(4) Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Secretary- General of the Office of the Judiciary and Attorney-General, as members.
The Committee under paragraph one shall complete its undertaking within one year from the date of promulgation of this Constitution.
Upon the expiration of the time limit under paragraph two, if the amendment to and revision of such laws have not been completed, the appointment and transfer of police officials shall be carried out on the basis of seniority in accordance with the rules prescribed by the Council of Ministers and published in the Government Gazette.
Section 261. In respect of the reform under section 258 e. education, there shall be one independent committee appointed by the Council of Ministers to carry out studies and prepare relevant recommendations and draft laws for achieving the goal, and to present them to the Council of Ministers for implementation.
The Council of Ministers shall complete the appointment of the committee under paragraph one within sixty days from the date of promulgation of this Constitution, and the committee shall complete the studies and preparation of the recommendations and draft laws and present them to the Council of Ministers within two years from the date of appointment.
The English language translation is provided for research and educational purposes only.
Persons with legal problems in Thailand are advised to contact a licensed lawyer, Thailand Employment Law Attorneys
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