A callout by senior judges for the Supreme Court to scrap a study course, organised by the Judicial Training Institute, aimed at fostering connections between judicial authorities and those from other sectors, including senior business executives, has shed light on some of the problems facing study programmes in this country.
The course in question is similar to an elite class arranged by the National Defence College (NDC), among others.
It has become a trend for public institutes and government agencies such as the National Defence College, Election Commission (EC), and more recently, the Royal Thai Police (RTP) to arrange such training courses.
In their note to the Supreme Court, Judges Boonkhet Poomthip and Anurak Sa-nga-areekul also called for the court not to allow judicial personnel to join the prestigious NDC programme or other elite classes, including those organised by the Stock Exchange of Thailand, that aim to establish such connections.
Both judges reasoned that such courses are deemed unnecessary for judicial authorities.
The judges hit the nail on the head when raising concerns over the programmes' drawbacks given the opportunity for members of the judiciary to mingle with their fellow students who may be high-ranking state officials and CEOs from the business sector.
They also questioned the benefits of the Judicial Training Institute ( JTI) courses, and criticised them as being a waste of the state budget and people's time.
Such opportunities can compromise the image of judges, who need to behave impartially and dissociate themselves from any interest groups. These courses do the opposite. As they are designed to incubate and nurture connections, the judges will mingle with business groups. That might lead to problems down the road if their classmates end up as a conflicting party, directly or indirectly, in future litigation.
Under such circumstances, the public may come to doubt the judges' impartiality.
The judges have also expressed concern that the courses arranged by the Judicial Training Institute are not cost-efficient and don't do the judicial organisations any good.
Those courses, they argue, have the potential to nurture a patron-client system that may result in double standards on the part of the judicial authorities.
Connections with other sectors, particularly in the business world, could substantially dent or destroy public trust in the judicial institution.
The judges' messages have been well-received by academics and law experts. In fact, the forging of strong connections between state agencies and business through these elite courses has long been a public concern.
Former prime minister Srettha Thavisin, when opening the NDC course in 2023, expressed similar concerns in his keynote speech. He urged participants not to abuse their connections for their own benefit but rather use them for the national interest.
To be eligible for the main NDC programme, the applicants must be state officials at the C-9 level, or relatively high-ranking soldiers, and between 50 and 54 years old. Applicants from the business sector, meanwhile, must be at the CEO level and come from well-known businesses, with a proven track record of success, and they must be endorsed by their organisations or associations.
Mr Srettha's opening speech, which highlighted these concerns, caused quite a stir. Yet, the college opened the mini-NDC, attracting middle-level administrators in 2023 in response to high demand. Paetongtarn Shinawatra was initially accepted to join the programme, but she later quit after taking office as prime minister last September.
Mr Srettha is not the only critic. Indeed, an academic paper titled "High Level-Connection Buildings via Training Courses" released in 2012 by Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Economics found these transiting courses that have been arranged over the past two decades risk entrenching the patronage system in Thai society.
The paper looks at famous training courses popular among businessmen, politicians and officials. That list includes the NDC, JTI, Political Development and Election Training by the Election Commission, King Prajadhipok's Institute's course on Political Administration for Executives, Capital Market Academy's Executive Training Course, and the Top Executive Program in Commerce and Trade (TEPCoT) provided by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC).
Judges Boonkhet and Anurak deserve a round of applause for trying to bring a sense of justice to the institute.
The Union for Civil Liberty, in particular, supports the abolition of the course arranged by the JTI, saying the programme could compromise the judges' independence and integrity.
Networking through such courses that include members of the media and people from the private sector risks cronyism.
Now, all eyes are on the Supreme Court to see how it responds to the judges' concerns. Hopefully, the court will get the point and shut down the opportunity for unbecoming connections through these courses.
Chairith Yonpiam is assistant news editor, Bangkok Post.