Thammasat University’s Faculty of Law Student Committee and the Thammasat University Student Council have started a petition calling on the faculty not to invite Constitutional Court judge Udom Ratamarit back to teach as a special instructor after the Constitutional Court ruled to dissolve the Move Forward Party (MFP).

Udom Ratamarit (Photo from Thammasat University's Faculty of Law)

The petition said that in reducing people’s rights and freedoms, the Court’s ruling has raised serious concerns about how the Constitution and other pieces of legislation are being interpreted, resulting in diminished trust for the Court, the judicial process, and even the monarchy.  It added that the ruling, which was presumably intended to the protection of the monarchy, might have the opposite effect as it pits the monarchy against the people, undermining the country’s democratic regime with the King as the Head of State.

As representatives of Thammasat University students, the two organisations demanded Udom’s removal on the grounds that as Constitutional Court judge, he set a bad example for students by failing to demonstrate that he interprets the Constitution in a manner consistent with the principles he teaches and by failing to adhere to the basic principle of the rule of law.

Student representatives plan to file the petition with the Faculty of Law Dean tomorrow (14 August) morning.

The MFP, the largest opposition party which emerged with the highest number of seats following the 2023 general election, was dissolved last Wednesday (7 August) after the Constitutional Court ruled that it had committed treason by campaigning to amend the royal defamation law. Its 11 executive board members are banned from running in elections, forming a political party, or serving as executive board members in any party for 10 years. Former MFP MPs have moved to a new party named the People’s Party.  MP Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, formerly a deputy secretary-general for the MFP, was named party leader.