<p>The Courts of Justice are facing the quandary of a new legal tactic by defence lawyers.&nbsp; Known informally as the ‘Democrat Defence’, this strategy, it is feared, may lead to an unacceptably large proportion of not guilty verdicts in criminal cases.</p> <p>In the ‘Democrat Defence’, criminal cases are presented in a way that absolves the direct perpetrator of any responsibility for his or her actions.&nbsp; This is instead placed on some other party, often the victim.&nbsp;</p> <p></p>

<p>7 August 2012: House Speaker Somsak Kiatsuranont was criticized by the opposition Democrat Party for changing the House agenda. The speaker had ruled that the debate on an aborted NASA weather research mission should be cancelled. &lsquo;Parliament has the obligation to debate issues of national importance,&rsquo; said a Democrat MP &lsquo;and since this matter was referred to Parliament by Cabinet, the Speaker has no right to cancel the debate.&rsquo;</p>

<p>The construction of Thailand&rsquo;s new 12-billion baht Parliament Building is scheduled to be completed in 2012. &nbsp;The design, which was chosen by a parliamentary committee from among 5 finalists, is said to represent the Thai identity. &nbsp;It focuses on the concept of Buddhist morality to govern mundane politics, according to the designers. However, Chatree Prakitnonthakarn, an architecture lecturer at Silpakorn University and expert on historical architecture during the post-1932 revolution era, questioned the relevance of the idea.</p>