Senator Nantana Nantavaropas has been thwarted in her attempt to seek a debate on the conduct of a Constitutional Court judge who made widely criticised remarks recently about the dissolution of the Move Forward Party.
Deputy Senate Speaker Kriangkrai Srirak on Tuesday put the brakes on a move by Ms Nantana to propose an urgent motion to discuss the remarks by Judge Udom Sittiwirattham.
He said she had to submit the matter to the Senate Speaker for consideration before raising it in a session. When Ms Nantana tried to argue that she was about to explain why the issue was urgent, Gen Kriangkrai cut her short.
Mr Udom came under heavy criticism for remarks made at a public forum about now-defunct Move Forward and its reincarnation, the People’s Party.
He made the comments at a public forum in Surat Thani on Aug 15 on the court’s role in protecting rights and freedoms, a week after Move Forward was dissolved for undermining the constitutional monarchy.
At one point in the forum, the judge said half-jokingly that the party’s dissolution might not be all bad news, given that its successor managed to raise millions of baht in a couple of days.
The judge’s remarks were widely seen as being inappropriate and not adhering to the ethics required from members of independent public agencies, with many academics saying he could face an ethical misconduct investigation.
- Editorial: Court’s image in the dock