A total of 114 Democrat Party MPs and members of the Senate have asked the Constitution Court to rule on whether the 2014 Budget Bill violates Section 168 of the constitution.
The lawmakers, led by senator Paiboon Nititawan and Democrat MP for Songkhla Wirat Kallayasiri, on Thursday submitted a petition to Parliament President Somsak Kiatsuranont through first deputy house speaker Charoen Chankomol, asking him to seek the Constitution Court's ruling on the legality of the bill.
The petition argues that Section 27 of the Budget Bill, concerning budget allocations for the Office of the Judiciary and Office of the Administrative Courts, and Section 28 relating to allocations for independent agencies including the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), might violate paragraph 8 and paragraph 9 of Section 168 of the constitution.
The two paragraphs say that the state must provide adequate budgetary appropriations for the independent operation of the national assembly, the Constitution Court, Courts of Justice, the Administrative Courts and constitutional organs including the NACC.
Senator Paiboon said that the budget bill scrutiny committee did not invite representatives of the Courts of Justice, the Office of the Administrative Courts or the NACC to give their views while it was vetting proposed allocations for the organisations.
The scrutiny committee, as a result, slashed the proposed allocations for the agencies.
Mr Wirat said he and other lawmakers exercised the right under Section 154, paragraph 1, in submitting the petition. The parliament president is duty-bound to forward it to the Constitution Court for consideration as soon as possible.