The Constitutional Court did not accept the request to rule on the use of MOU 44 to divide Thai-Cambodian marine resources. “Paiboon” is not a person whose rights or freedoms under the Constitution have been directly violated.
The Constitutional Court voted 6 to 3 to not accept the petition for consideration in the case in which Mr. Paiboon Nititawan, deputy leader of the Palang Pracharath Party, requested the Constitutional Court to consider and rule under Section 213 of the Constitution that the Department of Treaties and Law and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had used the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand and the Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia on the Areas That Thailand and Cambodia Claim Overlapping Continental Shelf Claims 2001 (MOU 2001) which was recently executed without the approval of the Parliament, which is in conflict with the Constitution, to proceed with the demarcation of sovereignty and the benefits of Thailand’s marine natural resources i
n the Gulf of Thailand, violating the rights of the petitioner under Section 3, Section 25, and Section 43, paragraph one (2) of the Constitution, and requested an order for both defendants to cancel the use of the MOU 2001.
The Court found that the facts according to the evidence of the Department of Treaties and Laws showed that this case was a problem of state duties under Chapter 5 of the Constitution. It did not show that Mr. Paiboon was a person whose rights or freedoms under the Constitution were directly violated by the actions of the two defendants. Mr. Paiboon’s claim was therefore merely an expression of his opinion as a citizen regarding the issue of the constitutionality of the MOU 2001. This case did not comply with Section 46, Paragraph 1, of the Constitutional Court Procedure Act 2018. Therefore, Mr. Paiboon could not file such a petition under Section 213 of the Constitution.
For the majority of 6 judges, namely Mr. Nakarin Mektrairat, Mr. Panya Utchachan, Mr. Udom Sitthiwirattham, Mr. Wiru
n Saengthian, Mr. Banjongwongprach, and Mr. Udom Rathamrit.
The three minority judges were Mr. Jiranit Hawanon, Mr. Noppadol Theppitak and Mr. Sumet Loijaroenkun.
Source: Thai News Agency