Conflict, Legitimacy and Government Reform: Equitable Allocation of ...

142 KPI Congress XI
enhanced by a continual process of learning correct academic principles.
It also requires creation of guidelines to protect judicial independence
founded on belief in the principle of separation of powers, so judges do
not fall under the influence of politics or unjust powers. There must be a
guarantee that courts adhere to neutrality and judge without prejudice.
Article 201 of the Constitution of the Kingdom Thailand stipulates that
a judge must take an oath before His Majesty the King, swearing he “will
be loyal to the His Majesty King and will faithfully perform my duties in
the name of the King without any partiality in the interest of justice, of
the people and of the public order of the Kingdom. I will also uphold
and observe the democratic regime of government with the King as Head
of State, the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand, and the law in
every respect.”
Political freedoms stipulated in the 1997 and 20007 constitutions
have increasingly created a conflict among political groups and pressure
groups. The judicial institution must enter to judge the behaviors of
these individuals or groups of the people in politics all the time. Due to
the different characteristics in Thai society, in which a judicial culture has
not yet been firmly rooted, influential people in society have been
allowed to intervene in the process of using state power in order to justify
their own actions. Furthermore, there is a limited understanding of new
provisions of law, particularly public law, under which various relations
have been set up and many mechanisms have established concerning the
use of power in the work systems of offices in various organizations.
These are very different from what they were in the past. Therefore,
Thailand’s judicial institutions like the Constitution Court, the Courts of
Justice, and the Administrative Court must work under the challenging
situation of facing constant public criticism, particularly when dealing
with cases concerning political interest that have huge effects in politics,
such as cases concerning removing political office-holders from their
positions, dissolving, political parties, disqualifying election candidates,
or confiscating assets when courts find the defendant to possess unusual
wealth. All these cases bring criticism of verdicts from all sides.