10 MPs from the main opposition People’s Party have been allowed to continue their parliamentary duties after the Supreme Court accepted a petition filed by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) against 44 former Move Forward Party MPs accused of serious ethics breach over their bid to amend the royal defamation law. However, the Court prohibited them from repeating or expressing opinion about the action of which they are accused.

The Supreme Court will convene next Friday (24 April) to decide whether to accept a case against 44 former Move Forward Party (MFP) MPs over a bid to amend the royal defamation law.

The Progressive Alliance, a global network of over 140 progressive political parties and organisations, issued a statement on Saturday (3 April) expressing grave concerns about the ethics breach case against the 44 former Move Forward Party MPs, which put them at risk of a lifetime ban from politics.

10 People’s Party MPs, formerly of the now-dissolved Move Forward Party (MFP), may face suspension after the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) formally approved a petition to the Supreme Court against 44 former MFP MPs over their proposal to amend the royal defamation law.

A former MP from the dissolved Move Forward Party (MFP) has been sentenced to prison for violating the election law on the grounds that he ran in the 2023 general election knowing that he was ineligible due to a criminal case from 1999. The former MP was banned from running for political office for 20 years.

44 former Move Forward Party (MFP) MPs are to face an ethics probe by the Supreme Court over their proposal to amend the royal defamation law in 2021. If found guilty, they risk being banned from politics for life.

A number of People’s Party MPs and former Move Forward Party (MFP) MPs said that they have received summonses from the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) regarding an ethics probe over their submission of a bill to parliament proposing amendments to the royal defamation law. If found guilty of an ethnics breach, they could be banned for life from standing for election.

On 31 January 2024, the Constitutional Court ruled that the Move Forward Party, the main opposition party which won the most seats in the House of Representatives in the 2023 general election, had committed treason by campaigning to amend the royal defamation law. The ruling was later cited in the Court's ruling to dissolve the party. Worachet Pakeerut, lecturer at Thammasat University’s Faculty of Law, questioned how MPs proposing a bill to parliament could be seen as an exercise of their rights and liberties when legislating is part of an MP’s mandate, and argued that the ruling will deter future amendments to the royal defamation law and discussions of monarchy-related issues.

To fix political problems arising from the conservative constitution imposed by military leaders after their 2014 coup, Thailand needs a new people’s charter. However, concerned parties are worried that procedural stumbling blocks will make it difficult to get one before the next election in 2027.

Thailand remains on the CIVICUS Monitor's human rights watchlist following a series of alarming developments, including the dissolution of the Move Forward Party and the continued prosecution of activists under the royal defamation law.

A Constitutional Court judge has come under public criticism for joking about the dissolution of Move Forward Party (MFP), prompting calls that he be subject to an ethics investigation.

Following the dissolution of the Move Forward Party (MFP) for campaigning to amend the royal defamation law, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) condemned the ruling as undemocratic and raised concerns that the ruling could prevent the political system from adapting and responding to change in society.