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

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146 KPI Congress XI<br />

idea <strong>of</strong> judicial restraint, which means courts should not rule on cases<br />

that are matters <strong>of</strong> executive policy, or political. Therefore, the idea <strong>of</strong><br />

judicial activism <strong>and</strong> the idea <strong>of</strong> judicial restraint are opposite sides <strong>of</strong><br />

the same coin. Interestingly, only judicial activism is mentioned in Thai<br />

society, without any comment about judicial restraint.<br />

Although, the definition <strong>of</strong> judicial activism is still debated among<br />

scholars, it is generally accepted that the high court (which may refer to<br />

a high court or Constitution Court) interprets the law under the<br />

constitution in order to protect the rights <strong>and</strong> freedoms <strong>of</strong> people. The<br />

role <strong>of</strong> controlling <strong>and</strong> examining the lawfulness <strong>of</strong> the law under the<br />

constitution, or any action, in this sense is called judicial review.<br />

However, judicial activism does not intend to go too far in using the<br />

court system to resolve political conflicts.

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