Identified as means to calm whistleblowers
In a conference held on Wednesday at Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Law, legal experts and activists raised the matter of a lawsuit brought against a NBTC director.
The alleged complaint is a dereliction of duty lawsuit brought by NBTC inspector Prof. Emeritus Pirongrong Ramasoota against telecom company True Digital Group. The seminar covered in great detail a strategic lawsuit against public participation ( Slapp ), which are lawsuits designed to intimidate and silence critics.
Asst Prof Kanpirom Komalarajun, a Chulalongkorn University professor, said in some Slapp cases, state leaders excessively faced claims.
According to Asst. Prof. Kanpirom, many of these cases were filed in far-off places, causing delays in the function of the leaders.
” People said Section 157]of the Criminal Code: rules on dereliction of duty ] would be a protection for the people. She claimed that it served as a means for private firms to intimidate government officials by forbidding them to make their own decisions.
Slapp cases have been used to silence government officials who are reporters or who are working for the public interest, according to Itthaboon Onwongsa, Office of Thai Consumer Council assistant secretary-general.
According to Mr. Itthaboon, the Criminal Court’s decision-making process may cause some people to avoid speaking with officials because they are already facing lawsuits for corruption and misconduct, despite the judge’s final ruling.
Sarinee Achavanuntakul, independent researcher and i- chairman of the Foundation of Internet and Civic Society ( Thai Netizen Network ), who has faced Slapp circumstances, said the name” corruption and misbehavior” is quite large.
A defendant would need a lot of cultural evidence to show their innocence, according to Ms. Sarinee, in a case where the problem is not about bribery or vested interests.
What kind of protection would be provided to ensure that it wo n’t have an impact on the government’s ability to function overall if we allowed every unsatisfied person to file criminal lawsuits against government officials? she asked.
Ms. Sarinee noted that if complainants raise their demands, such as requesting a pay raise for government employees, they can be even more clear about the hidden agendas behind some Slapp cases.
What she said is in line with the situation of Prof. Pirongrong, the NBTC inspector, who is facing a petition from True Digital Group.
Real Corporation, True Digital’s family firm, has requested that Prof Pirongrong be suspended from work. The firm claims that her impartiality in deciding case-related to business matters could be affected by being sued. The government is still given incomplete information about the situation.
Regarding this particular circumstance, Prof Twekiat Menakanist, a previous Constitutional Court fairness, said Prof Pirongrong’s suspension from her duty may render the seven- member NBTC’s functions resilient.
When the committee considered the True-Dtac acquisition, NBTC president Sarana Boonbaichaiyapruck twice voted to crack a tie in 2022. For a “double vote” was not an appropriate way to make choices for Constitutional Court judges, he said.
However, assistant professor Vorapol Malsukhum of Thammasat University said that four factors should be taken into account before a decision should be made regarding whether a government official should be fired from his or her job. He claimed that the factors included prejudication on the same issues as in the contested case, a history of conduct that showed bias toward the contested party in people, and a group that might result in impartiality.
The commissioner’s role as a national regulation considering cases involving the telecom company must be “determined by some screening systems to ensure the rights to a good trial,” but it is not necessary to immediately suspend government officials from their positions of employment because they are being merely sued. In that case, there would be a lot of bad consequences]to state functions ]”, he said.
As speakers discussed solutions to the Slapp cases, Asst. Prof. Kanpirom argued that private companies may not be able to file legal lawsuits against state officials but could collaborate with state attorneys.
Ms. Sarinee suggested that smaller ways, like operational appeal, should be taken before a criminal case may be brought on file.
Also, when the debate is about public attention, information about the legal cases may be made empty and available to the public, never kept to only the judge as a secret, she added.
Federal authorities and being sued in criminal cases were the topic of the school workshop.