The Supreme Court will meet on Tuesday to name nine judges to handle the criminal case against former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
The nine judges chosen from the high court's pool of 140 justices will decide whether the case submitted by the Office of the Attorney-General will be accepted or tossed out at a hearing scheduled for March 19, said Thanaruek Nitiseranee, chief of the Criminal Division for Political Office-Holders
The OAG on Thursday formally indicted Ms Yingluck for dereliction of duty in connection with massive losses and corruption in her government's rice-pledging programme. Ms Yingluck chaired the National Rice Policy Committee, which supervised the programme.
Norrawit Lalaeng, the lead lawyer for Ms Yingluck, said on Thursday that the former premier would fight the case if it was accepted by the court and that her legal team had sufficient evidence to counter prosecutors.
Ms Yingluck could face a jail term up to 20 years and a fine up to 200,000 baht if she is found guilty.
The former premier has already been banned from politics for five years after being impeached retroactively by the National Legislative Assembly last month.