<p><strong>Executive Summanry</strong></p>

<div>Thai constitutional drafters, under the military regime, is including regulations on ‘hate speech’ in the new constitutional draft for the first time in Thai law.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Kamnoon Sidhisaman, the spokesperson of the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC), announced the results of the CDC meeting on freedom of expression that on top of mentioning vaguely that freedom of expression is guaranteed with the limitations of respect towards the rights of others, the committee has included ‘hate speech’ into the new draft constitution.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Kamnoon said </div>

<p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-989fc783-5c7a-e91a-7cc0-a37f984ee731">Community rights groups have urged the junta not to ignore community rights and to reconsider their forest protection policies after nearly 1,800 families, most of them in Thailand’s North and Northeast, have been severely affected.</span></p>

<p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-b0a6c912-3369-0f93-5f84-da7effd65fc0">On the date of 10 December 2014, let us be happy on the commemoration of auspicious Universal Human Rights Day and Constitution Day of Thailand. Shan’t I be happy, I ask myself. I should, but my feeling is so strong that despite these great occasions and the promise of Prayuth Chan O-cha, Prime Minister and Chief of National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to bring us happiness</span><span>, I am not happy.</span></p>

<p>Foreign countries are expressing quiet concern over Thai plans to outlaw surrogate democracy.&nbsp; While readily acknowledging Thailand’s right to enact legislation to protect its own body politic, they are urging a transitional approach.&nbsp;</p> <p>A number of foreign governments are thought to have invested heavily in ongoing surrogate democracy programmes in Thailand which, due to the normal course of events, will take time to mature.&nbsp; A sudden clampdown will put their investments at risk.</p>

<div>&nbsp;</div> <div>After the 2007 Constitution was torn up two months ago, Thailand was presented with an Interim Charter with 48 articles on 22 July 2014. The significance of the charter is that it allows the establishment of three bodies: a National Legislative Assembly (NLA), taking the responsibilities of Parliament, a National Reform Committee (NRC), which will propose a “reform” plan aiming at re-engineering the Thai political landscape, and a Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC), which is responsible for drafting a permanent constitution. </div>

<div>About 150 Thai academics have on Tuesday denounced the proposal of the anti-government protesters to establish a “People’s Council” and royally-appointed caretaker government as legally impossible and undemocratic.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <p></p>

<div>Group of academics on Thursday called on the government to resolve the current conflict by holding referendum to amend the constitution, and dissolve the parliament, paving the way for new election.&nbsp;</div> <p></p>

<div>Nitirat, a group of law scholars from Thammasat University, warned on Thursday that the passing of the blanket amnesty bill would contradict the constitution and could results in lawsuits at the Constitutional Court against Members of Parliament.&nbsp;</div> <p></p>

<p>Somsak Jeamtheerasakul, a Thammasat University lecturer in history, told a public forum that in order to get rid of the so-called &lsquo;Amat&rsquo; regime (traditional elitist rule), it was necessary to change the constitutional clause on the royal prerogatives to conform to the principles of democracy. &nbsp;This included two main points: the appointment of Privy Councillors and the succession, with the latter being changed after the 1991 coup.</p>