The Supreme Court on Thursday set March 19 as the date to decide whether to accept the Office of the Attorney-General's (OAG) indictment of former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra for further proceedings.
Ms Yingluck faces charges of dereliction of duty over massive losses and corruption in her government's rice-pledging scheme.
Teerathai Charoenwong, secretary of the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office-Holders, made the announcement after the OAG filed the indictment, accompanied by 20 boxes of documents, with the court. Ms Yingluck was not present.
Earlier yesterday, Norrawit Lalaeng, the leader of Ms Yingluck's team of lawyers, submitted a letter notifying the attorney-general that the former prime minister would report to the Supreme Court after it decides whether to accept the case for trial.
Ms Yingluck was at this stage still only a suspect in a criminal suit, so she was not required to show up at court yesterday, Mr Norrawit said.
The lawyer said that after receiving the indictment, the Supreme Court president was expected to call a plenary session to select a panel of nine judges to handle the case.
The defendant will be able to oppose the members appointed to the panel if she sees fit.
The panel would then examine the indictment and decide whether to accept it for a further hearing.
If the panel decided to proceed with the case, Ms Yingluck would report to the court to begin the judicial process, Mr Norrawit said.
In the indictment, Ms Yingluck is charged with dereliction of duty, as well as abuse of authority, in accordance with Section 157 of the Criminal Code and Section 123/1 of the 1999 Organic Law on Counter-Corruption.
She is accused of failing to oversee the rice-pledging scheme, which incurred losses of more than 500 billion baht to the state.
If she is found guilty on both charges, the former premier could face up to 20 years' imprisonment and a fine, which could amount to 200,000 baht.
Under the constitution, the former prime minister can seek full disclosure and ask the court for permission to examine the indictment and related documents.
The lawyer said Ms Yingluck was confident she had sufficient evidence to successfully defend the charges brought against her by the National Anti-Corruption Commission and the OAG.
In the case against her, the court's statute of limitations is 15 years, beginning from the start of her administration's rice-pledging scheme in August 2011.
Asked whether Ms Yingluck faces a travel ban, Attorney-General Chutthichai Sakhakorn said the matter was not yet in the hands of the court. She would have to seek permission to travel abroad from the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), he said.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said yesterday the NCPO would consult with the OAG on Ms Yingluck's travel plans.