The Constitutional Court has dismissed a petition to dissolve the Pheu Thai Party over an alleged attempt to overthrow the democratic regime of government with the King as head of state.

The Constitutional Court on Wednesday unanimously agreed not to accept a petition asking the Court to decide whether the party attempted to overthrow the democratic regime. The case arose from a 31 October 2021 speech made by Pheu Thai PM candidate Chaikasem Nitisiri about amending the royal defamation law. The petition was filed by Ruangkrai Leekitwattana, a Palang Pacharat party-list candidate who is also a complainant seeking the dissolution of the Move Forward Party.

The Court dismissed the case since Chaikasem was not the party’s leader and there was no evidence to prove that the party acted in violation of Section 49 of the Constitution, which states that no person shall exercise the rights and liberties to overthrow the democratic regime of government with the King as Head of State.

The speech was made while Chaikasem was Pheu Thai’s chief strategist. He noted the problem of excessive use of criminal law, including the royal defamation statute, to limit dissenting political views.

Chaikasem stated that Pheu Thai, as the party with the most seats in parliament, was ready to bring a proposal to amend the law into parliament session, adding that the party planned to examine the entire judicial process, including police, prosecutors, courts, and corrections. The former chief strategist also stated his commitment to amend unfair laws so that political prisoners would be released and future imprisonments could be prevented.

His speech is still accessible on Pheu Thai’s Facebook page.