The Supreme Administrative Court on Tuesday dismissed a request for its ruling on the legitimacy of the Senate selection process because the issue was outside its scope.
The decision responded to the petition of a group of 34 people calling themselves "Thai Citizens of the Nation" and upheld a previous decision by the Central Administrative Court.
The petition targeted the National Council for Peace and Order and Prime Minister and NCPO chief Prayut Chan-o-cha.
The group accused the NCPO and Gen Prayut of abusing constitutional authority in the Senate selection process because the selection committee headed by Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon had not been officially formed.
The group also alleged the selection was not neutral and was aimed only at securing a vote for Gen Prayut to be prime minister for another term. It demanded a fresh selection of senators.
The Central Administrative Court dismissed the petition in March, stating that it was authorised to rule on cases related to the exercise of administrative power between government officials and the private sector or between administrative organisations and government officials. In this case, the NCPO and Gen Prayut performed their constitutional duties and did not exercise administrative power.
The Supreme Administrative Court stated that it supported the ruling of the lower court because the constitution required the accused to form the Senate selection committee and the case had nothing to do with any issue of constitutionality.