Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has appealed for calm as tensions escalate in the wake of threats by the red shirts against Constitution Court judges.
The verdict on the government's charter amendment bid is due Friday.
Ms Yingluck urged all sides to refrain from violence and resolve their differences through talks.
The Royal Plaza at 9.40am (Photo by Lampai Intathep)
"I believe we can talk it out. We can express opinions but must act within the scope of the law and without violence," she said.
Ms Yingluck will be in Cambodia when the Constitution Court delivers its verdict Friday afternoon.
Constitution Court spokesman Somrit Chaiwong said none of the eight judges had withdrawn from the case despite the mounting pressure.
He said the judges would meet this morning to announce their individual opinions before casting a vote and preparing the court's verdict.
The verdict reading has been tentatively scheduled for 2pm.
Three companies of riot police were sent yesterday to step up security at the court compound on Chaeng Watthana Road. The police installed barricades to keep protesters from entering the compound.
Defence permanent secretary Sathian Permthong-in expressed confidence that the situation would be under control.
He said police were in charge of security and troops would remain in their barracks.
Deputy police chief Adul Saengsingkaew said police had a contingency plan that includes evacuating judges if the situation spirals out of control.
It was reported that helicopters were put on stand-by to evacuate the judges to safety if need be.
Yingluck: Urges talks over violence
An academic Thursday urged the government and the legislature to help head off possible political violence by recognising the Constitution Court's authority.
Jade Donavanik, dean of Siam University's law school, said that if lawmakers and the government accept the court's power, the red shirts would have second thoughts about acting on their threats.
Mr Jade said there are three possible outcomes:
- The court dismisses the case on grounds that it has no power to consider the issue;
- The court rules the charter amendment process is legal; or
- The court finds the charter rewrite effort unconstitutional.
He said the most likely scenario would be that the court rules the charter amendment is unconstitutional on grounds that it transfers power to the charter drafting assembly.
Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political commentator, said that whatever the verdict, Thailand will not be closer to reconciliation and compromise. The stakes are also high for the judicial branch.
"The ruling takes place amid what appears like a winner-takes-all game. The judicial verdict today follows a pattern of judicial interventions to set political directions as the military coup option has lost appeal," said Mr Thitinan, who is also director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University.
"But the problem is that the courts have so far failed to put down the challenges posed by Thaksin Shinawatra and his alleged corruption on the one hand and innovation and inventiveness on the other."
Mr Thitinan said the best-case scenario would be a reversion to the promising political environment which existed before the government introduced the reconciliation and charter change bills.
"This means the court would let the legislature do its work and the legislature would back off on reconciliation and charter changes in an effort to bring Thaksin back," he said.
The worst case is if the court were to subvert the legislature and thereby extinguish the Yingluck government, an event which would bring the red shirts into the streets again.
"The conflict is the same as before. It's about two competing sources of legitimacy _ democracy and voters under electoral rule versus the good people with noblesse oblige under a monarchy-centred political order," he said.
He cautioned that the establishment has to start thinking about setting a new line of defence.
The current line is not going to hold.
"The establishment is going to lose this battle unless they undertake reforms and adjustments from a position of strength," he said.
Nakharin Mektrairat, political scientist at Thammasat University, said the Pheu Thai Party has misunderstood the scope of the parliament's power, which is different now than it was under the previous charter.
He said the Pheu Thai mistakenly believes the parliament is authorised to rewrite the constitution, as it did under the previous, abrogated 1997 constitution.
The 1997 charter allowed parliament to entrust its constitution rewriting power to a drafting assembly.
But that is no longer the case under the current charter which was approved in a referendum by the people before it was promulgated, Mr Nakharin said.
Riot police from the Metropolitan Police Bureau take part in a security drill outside the Constitution Court compound. The judges will today hand down a verdict on the government-sponsored charter amendment bid. APICHIT JINAKUL
If the current charter was to be rewritten, it would require a mandate via a new referendum.
He said the Constitution Court has acted within the law in deliberating the charter amendment case.
As the country's parliamentary system is problematic, the Constitution Court was established under the 1997 charter as the final authority to resolve constitutionality disputes.
This effectively protects the charter, which is what the court is trying to do by taking up the charter amendment case for consideration, he said.
The Constitution Court is also keeping the balance of power in check.
Mr Nakharin said he did not think the court would rule to dissolve the Pheu Thai since the party did not appear intent on subverting the constitutional monarchy by seeking the charter amendment.
"The Constitution Court is here so our system can keep functioning," he said.