The Constitutional Court has demanded to see the minutes of the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC)'s 501st meeting which discussed Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's tenure, saying it will examine the case again next Wednesday.
The court on Thursday discussed the opposition's petition regarding the tenure issue and ordered the House of Representatives secretary-general to forward the minutes of the meeting that occurred on Sept 11, 2018.
The secretary-general must deliver them by next Tuesday and the court will meet the following day to discuss the case, the court said in a statement.
The office of the court said the CDC's 501st meeting was scheduled to approve the minutes of the 500th meeting on Sept 7, 2018.
The minutes of the 501st meeting relate to the court's consideration of the petition for it to rule on whether the prime minister's time in office was already up.
According to reports, CDC head Meechai Ruchuphan said during the 500th meeting that Gen Prayut's tenure started before the promulgation of the present constitution on April 6, 2017.
Gen Prayut was installed as prime minister on Aug 24, 2014, under a provisional constitution enforced after he led the last coup on May 22, 2014.
If his tenure began then, it should have ended on Aug 24 this year.
The constitution limits the tenure of a prime minister to eight years.
If the tenure was interpreted as beginning when the present constitution was promulgated in 2017, Gen Prayut could stay in power until 2025, provided he agrees to run for re-election as premier by parliament after the election expected in the middle of next year.
The Constitutional Court has reportedly expressed concern about the leaking of a document submitted by Mr Meechai to the court.
It will launch a probe into the leak even though the document, which has gone viral on social media, has not been authenticated.
In it, Mr Meechai contends that Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha's term officially began in April 2017 when the constitution was promulgated. That means his tenure would end in April 2025.
Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam told reporters on Thursday that documents for both the 500th and 501st CDC meetings are unlikely to carry any weight in the court's deliberation.
This is because the meetings took place in 2018, a year after the constitution came into effect.
Mr Meechai also reportedly said he informed the Constitutional Court that the minutes of the 500th meeting were flawed and should not be used as a reference.
However, the 501st meeting, held the day before the CDC was dissolved on Sept 12, 2018, acknowledged the minutes of the previous meeting, which were adopted with no corrections made.