The Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) has endorsed a proposal for a new independent body to initiate ethics investigations against political office-holders and state officials.
They could be "impeached" without their case going to parliament. Instead, their fate would be decided by voters choosing from a list of supposed wrong-doers at an election.
The National Morality Assembly (NMA) would establish a code of conduct for political office-holders and state authorities, and look into complaints about violations of the code. CDC spokesman Gen Lertrat Ratanavanich said the proposal is part of an attempt to encourage good governance.
Any prime minister, cabinet minister, lawmaker, executive or local administrative organisation member found to have committed serious violations of the ethical code will be put on an impeachment list and have voters decide their fate, he said.
The NMA would forward their names to the Election Commission (EC) to begin the impeachment process. At the next election, their names would appear on the impeachment list and voters will decide whether to impeach them.
Other political office-holders, such as the prime minister's secretary-general and permanent secretaries, will be impeached by parliament if found guilty of any wrongdoing, Gen Lertrat said.
Any state authorities which the NMA finds guilty of less serious ethical violations will be recommended for immediate disciplinary action. Their supervisors will not have to initiate fresh disciplinary investigations and the NMA is empowered to disclose the results of a probe to the public if supervisors fail to take action, he said.
A source close to the CDC said the investigations to be handled by the NMA are strictly about ethics. Any probes are separate from those handled under the National Anti-Corruption Commission's (NACC) remit.
An impeachment sought by the NACC against political office-holders will be decided by parliament out of concerns that corruption charges are more complicated than ethical breaches and voters may not understand their legal complexity, said the source.