Court: Financial decrees constitutional
Constitution Court rules decrees transfering 1997 Crisis Debt to central bank & authorising 350 billion baht in loans for flood recovery are ok.
Constitution Court rules decrees transfering 1997 Crisis Debt to central bank & authorising 350 billion baht in loans for flood recovery are ok.
Photo below of the courtroom at the Constitution Court yesterday with people waiting to hear the judges read out their ruling.
Read the full article here and more in-depth analysis here.
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Court: Financial decrees constitutional
22/02/2012
Online Reporters
One decree authorised the government to seek 350 billion baht in loans to finance water management projects and flood rehabilitation work.
The other required the Finance Ministry to transfer full repayment responsibility for 1.14 trillion baht of bailout debt accrued from the 1997/98 financial crisis from the Finance Ministry to the Financial Institutions Development Fund, which is under the Bank of Thailand
Democrat Party MPs and 69 senators earlier petitioned the Constitution Court to rule whether the two decrees are constitutional. They said the two decrees might contravene Section 184 of the constitution which stipulates that an executive decree can be issued only as a matter of urgency.
The Constitution Court today convened a meeting of the nine judges on the bench at 9am and read out its ruling on the two decrees at 2pm
In the matter of the decree to allow the Finance Ministry to seek 350 billion baht in loans to finance water management and flood rehabilitation projects, the court unanimously ruled that it is in line with the prerequisites mentioned in Section 184 paras 1 and 2 of the constitution, because the government is urgently in need of money to cope with problems arising from the flood disaster [that has] affected the country's infrastructure and financial security.
The court voted 7-2 to confirm the constitutionality of the second decree to enable the government to transfer the responsibility for the 1.14 trillion baht debt from the Finance Ministry to the FIDF.
In doing this, the government could reduce the burden of allocating a fund from the annual budget to pay for the debt's interest. The money should instead be used for other purposes.
The transfer of the debt was necessitated by the flood crisis. There was no evidence indicating that the cabinet, in issuing this decree, acted dishonestly or in violation of the charter, the court said.
At least six of the nine votes of the nine judges are required for a ruling that an executive decree is in violation of the charter.
(Source: Bangkok Post, Court: Financial decrees constitutional, 22/02/2012, Online Reporters, link)
Constitutional Court Vocabulary
constitution (noun) - a set of rules for a government, usually in written document, also called a "charter" (See Wikipedia) รัฐธรรมนูญ
constitutional (adjective) - correct or allowed according to the constitution ถูกต้องหรืออยู่ในขอบข่ายที่ระบุไว้ในรัฐธรรมนูญ
Constitution Court - an independent Thai court originally established under the 1997 Constitution with jurisdiction over the constitutionality of parliamentary acts, royal decrees, draft legislation, as well as the appointment and removal of public officials and issues regarding political parties ศาลรัฐธรรมนูญ (See Wikipedia)
Court: Financial decrees constitutional
executive - the highest level managers in a company or government
decree - an official order or decision made by the ruler of a country
executive decree - a direct order by the Prime Minister (without going to parliament first)
post-flood - after the flood
rehabilitation - to make acceptable and suitable for use again การทำให้กลับสู่สภาพเดิม, การทำให้กลับมาดีเหมือนเดิม making a system, building, etc., suitable for use again, i.e., bringing it back to a good condition การฟื้นฟูสภาพกิจการ
post-flood rehabilitation
debt - an amount of money that you owe หนี้
debt management
issued - made available ออกใหม่
issued by the cabinet
violate - to do something that is against a law, rule or agreement ฝ่าฝืนกฎหมาย
violate the constitution - not follow rules in the constitution
The Constitution Court on Wednesday ruled that two executive decrees related to water management and post-flood rehabilitation and debt management issued by the cabinet do not violate the constitution.
in-depth - looking at the details of a situation or news story
authorised - activity given official permission to happen ได้สั่งการให้
finance - to provide money for something จัดหาเงินทุนให้
finance water management projects
One decree authorised the government to seek 350 billion baht in loans to finance water management projects and flood rehabilitation work
transfer - 1. to move someone or something from one place, vehicle, person or group to another ย้าย; 2. to official arrange for someone else to be the owner of something โอน
responsibility - 1. being blamed for something that goes wrong, 2. having to take care of some task as part of your job
bailout - help someone out of difficult situation by giving them money ช่วยไม่ให้ธุรกิจล้มละลาย (See glossary)
crisis - an urgent, difficult or dangerous situation วิกฤตการณ์ วิกฤต
responsibility
repayment responsibility
full repayment responsibility
transfer full repayment responsibility
transfer full repayment responsibility from the Finance Ministry to the FIDF
bailout debt
bailout debt accrued from the 1997/98 financial crisis
1.14 trillion baht of bailout debt accrued from the 1997/98 financial crisis
The other required the Finance Ministry to transfer full repayment responsibility for 1.14 trillion baht of bailout debt accrued from the 1997/98 financial crisis from the Finance Ministry to the Financial Institutions Development Fund, which is under the Bank of Thailand
petition - make an official request
petition the Constitution Court
rule - (of a court or other group with similar authority) to make and announce a decision ตัดสิน, พิพากษา, ชี้ขาด
rule whether the decrees is constitutional.
MPs and senators petitioned the Constitution Court to rule whether the two decrees are constitutional.
a matter - a situation or subject which is being dealt with or considered เรื่อง, ภารกิจ, งาน
a matter - something that you are discussing, considering or dealing with สิ่งที่พูดถึง ประเด็นที่พูดถึง
urgency - the need to deal with something quickly ความจำเป็นเร่งด่วน
a matter of urgency
issued as a matter of urgency
issued only as a matter of urgency
an executive decree can be issued only as a matter of urgency
Section 184 of the constitution stipulates that an executive decree can be issued only as a matter of urgency
contravene - to do something that is not allowed by a rule or law; break a rule, not follow a rule
the decree might contravene Section 184 of the constitution
Democrat Party MPs and 69 senators earlier petitioned the Constitution Court to rule whether the two decrees are constitutional. They said the two decrees might contravene Section 184 of the constitution which stipulates that an executive decree can be issued only as a matter of urgency.
convened - gathered for a meeting and started a meeting เข้าชุมนุม ที่มาชุมนุม
meeting - when a group of people come together to discuss issues and make decisions การประชุม
convene a meeting
ruling - a decision by a court of law คำตัดสิน คำชี้ขาด
read out a ruling
The Constitution Court today convened a meeting of the nine judges on the bench at 9am and read out its ruling on the two decrees at 2pm
urgently (adverb) - needing to be dealt with immediately อย่างเร่งด่วน
urgent (adjective) - must be done quickly (because very important) ที่เร่งด่วน
cope - to deal with a problem, continue to operate and function despite problems; to deal successfully with a difficult situation รับมือกับ (See glossary)
disaster - something very bad that happens and causes a lot of damage or kills a lot of people ความหายนะ ภัยพิบัติ
infrastructure - the high-cost facilities that everyone in the economy shares (water, roads, electricity, trains) สาธารณูปโภค
security - the activity of making safe or protecting from harm
financial security - making safe in their money situation, for a person, family or whole country (not run out of money, can borrow money needed), also called "economic security" (See Wikipedia)
In the matter of the decree to allow the Finance Ministry to seek 350 billion baht in loans to finance water management and flood rehabilitation projects, the court unanimously ruled that it is in line with the prerequisites mentioned in Section 184 paras 1 and 2 of the constitution, because the government is urgently in need of money to cope with problems arising from the flood disaster had affected the country's infrastructure and financial security
confirm - state that an arrangement you made earlier that hasn't happened yet, will definitely happen in the future (for example, the financing for construction was confirmed, the hotel reservation was confirmed) ยืนยัน
enable - to make someone able to do something, or to make something possible ทำให้เป็นไปได้
The court voted 7-2 to confirm the constitutionality of the second decree to enable the government to transfer the responsibility for the 1.14 trillion baht debt from the Finance Ministry to the FIDF.
burden - a serious or difficult responsibility that you have to deal with ภาระ a responsibility, a difficult thing that must be done, a heavy load to carry (See glossary)
fund (verb) - to provide money for something
fund - (noun) money provided for some purpose เงินทุน กองทุน
annual - happening once a year ประจำปี
budget - the amounts of money that an organisation has available to spend on different things during a period งบประมาณ (See Wikipedia)
annual budget - the budget that the government makes every year
interest - payments made for the use of another's money for a period of time
In doing this, the government could reduce the burden of allocating a fund from the annual budget to pay for the debt's interest. The money should instead be used for other purposes.
evidence - information that is used in court to try to prove something to be true หลักฐานประกอบการไต่สวนคดี หรือพิจารณาคดี
issuing - officially giving something to people ออกคำสั่ง
issuing decree
violation - the breaking of a rule or a law การฝ่าฝืน an action that is against a law, agreement, principle, etc. การฝ่าฝืนกฎหมาย
charter - a constitution; a set of rules for a government, usually in written document (See Wikipedia) รัฐธรรมนูญ a formal statement of the rights of a country's people, or of an organization or a particular social group กฎบัตร
The transfer of the debt was necessitated by the flood crisis. There was no evidence indicating that the cabinet, in issuing this decree, acted dishonestly or in violation of the charter, the court said.
