A Statement from Thai Lawyers for Human Rights forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission
It was reported on 27 March 2015 that Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha is about to invoke Section 44 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand (Interim), B.E. 2557 (2014), to replace the Martial Law Act B.E. 2457 (1914). The undersigned human rights organizations would like to express our concerns as follows:
- Numerous calls by various organizations have been made to demand that Martial Law be lifted in order to provide for the protection of human rights and freedom of the people. Insofar, the invocation of the 1914 Martial Law Act has provided sweeping power to military officials to conduct a search, seizure, compulsory requisition, prohibition, and holding a person in custody up to seven days, as per Article 15 bis. It has also made it impossible to have a higher court review the conviction and sentence made by the Military Court. Such aggravating predicament has resulted in the trampling of the rights and freedom of people.
- If Martial Law shall be lifted and replaced by Section 44 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand (Interim), B.E. 2557 (2014), it will still not solve the above problems that have been raging in the past several months. Instead, it will simply do away with a scant guarantee of rights and freedom since Section 44 provides absolute powers to the Leader of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) over the Legislature, the administration, and the Judiciary. The order, act, or any performance in accordance with that order is deemed to be legal, constitutional, and conclusive. In other words, such an act or order, or any performance in accordance with that order, shall not be held accountable to any agencies, even to the Judiciary. It will likely elicit an abuse of law and it will eventually induce irrecoverable damage to the people while the perpetrators shall enjoy impunity.
- The revocation of Martial Law should be aimed at protecting and enhancing the rights and freedom of people. And since existing laws are sufficient for the purpose of maintaining peace and order, there is no need to invoke either Martial Law or Section 44 of the Interim Constitution.
The undersigned human rights organizations urge Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, as Prime Minister and Leader of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), to review an attempt to invoke Section 44, since its use will undermine the principle of the separation of power and the rule of law, and will breach international human rights obligations. It will lead to a lack of checks and balances and encourage arbitrary use of power, blowing away guarantees for rights and freedom. The impact shall be much worse than the use of Martial Law. It by no means serves the call of international community, which has been demanding that Martial Law be lifted.
With respect for the rights and freedom of the people,
Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR)
Community Resource Center (CRC)
Cross-Cultural Foundation (CrCF)
Human Rights Lawyers Association (HRLA)
Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF)
PRORIGHTS Foundation
Union for Civil Liberty (UCL)
ENLAW Foundation
