The National Legislative Assembly (NLA) has passed a bill to establish a court marshal unit under the Courts of Justice. The new unit will police the court's premises among other tasks.
Suriyan Hongwilai, spokesman for the Courts of Justice, said the court marshal law is due to take effect in 90 days after it is announced in the Royal Gazette.
The main purpose of establishing the court marshal unit is to improve the efficiency of judicial procedures such as by handling situations that may affect or stall the work of court judges and tracking suspects jumping bail, said Mr Suriyan.
Currently, a unit of court security guards ensures security and order for the courts, he said.
The plan to establish the court marshal unit, along with greater powers of law enforcement for those doing the work, is a major upgrade to the court's security unit, he said.
According to the new law, a court marshal is a person with Thai nationality issued at birth, is aged 20 or older and must not be a politician holding a civil service position.
In certain situations in which it is impossible to alert administrative officials or the police to what is going on around the court, the court marshal will play a key role in policing to ensure law and order, said Mr Suriyan.
Under the new law, the court marshal has responsibilities and power equivalent to those of administrative officials or police, specified under the Criminal Code. Section 9 of the law exempts the Courts of Justice from laws regulating weapons to allow court marshals to carry and use weapons for their work.
In the first three years, the court marshal unit will require 22.1 million baht in budget funds and there will be about 40 court marshals. The number will increase to 109 by the fifth year of the unit's establishment while the entire budget for the first five years will be 316.9 million baht.