KINGOUA LAOHONG
The nine-member Constitution Court ruled yesterday that the joint communique Thailand signed with Cambodia on June 18 supporting the listing of the Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site is unconstitutional.
The ruling came one day after the World Heritage Committee (WHC) resolved in Quebec, Canada, to grant World Heritage status to the Hindu temple, immediately across the border from Kantharalak district of Si Sa Ket.
Court secretary-general Paiboon Varahapaitoon said the judges ruled unanimously the joint communique was equivalent to a treaty under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969.
They also agreed by 8-1 that the communique required parliament's approval before being signed under Article 190 of the charter.
Article 190 requires any treaty affecting Thailand's society, its economy or the integrity of its borders to be scrutinised by parliament before being signed. The dissenting judge was Chalermpol Ek-uru.
The joint declaration was signed by Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama and Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister Sok An on June 18, a day after the Samak Sundaravej administration gave it the green light.
The Foreign Ministry was earlier confident that the document was not considered an international treaty, and thus did not need approval from parliament.
The court will forward the ruling to Senate Speaker Prasopsuk Boondej and House Speaker Chai Chidchob.
Mr Paiboon said the court has completed its job and any further action lay outside its authority.
The ruling was sought by 77 senators and 151 MPs after the Administrative Court issued an injunction on June 28 against the government's support for Cambodia's temple listing proposal.
The joint communique gave Thai support for Cambodia's bid to list the temple as a World Heritage site on the condition that the 4.6-sq-km area which has not been demarcated was not included in the Cambodian application.
The injunction forced Mr Noppadon to protest against the listing in the Thai delegation's capacity as an observer before the 21-member WHC in Quebec.
The cabinet decided yesterday to appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court to reverse the lower court's injunction, PM's Office Minister Chusak Sirinin said. This followed consultation with the Treaties and Legal Affairs Department of the Foreign Ministry and the Office of the Attorney-General.
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