BANGKOK – One day after the Supreme Court of Justice of a Criminal Division for Persons Holding Political Positions dismissed the charges and quashed the arrest warrant against the former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra related to the transfer of Mr. Thawil Pliensri from his post as Secretary General of the National Security Council in 2011, Yingluck’s lawyer has talked about it in detail.
Winyat Chatmontree, the lawyer for former Prime Minister Yingluck, posted a message on his personal Facebook page on December 27 about his client’s victory in the third court after many people had questions about why she was acquitted after two previous courts, the Constitutional Court and the Administrative Court of Thailand declared her guilty.
“The criminal liability requires both an act and an intent, and the charge of breach of office specifically requires a particular intent,” he said, following the Court’s political office holder section, which said the transfer wasn’t unusual.
Winyat added that the Supreme Court had to carefully examine and evaluate the evidence from the National Anti-Corruption Commission’s investigation to establish the facts and ensure that there was clear evidence to convict the accused.
Two important legal aspects play a role in the different outcomes: 1. legal process and 2. the intent of the law. These two factors influence how courts interpret and justify their decisions.
On May 7, 2014, the Constitutional Court found Ms. Yingluck guilty of unlawfully removing Thawil, and filling his post with one of her allies in 2011.
The complaint had been filed by senators who said Yingluck’s party benefited from improperly transferring her national security chief in 2011. She argued it was a routine transfer.
Winyat personally believes that the Constitutional Court can rule based on the law, but also takes into account the political context of the time.
He went on to explain that the Constitutional Court’s 2014 ruling only obliged Yingluck to resign as prime minister. In his view, the court’s reasoning for finding her guilty of interference was merely a supporting rationale or justification for the judgment.
He added that in some previous important cases, the courts accepted evidence from the investigation and trial, unlike the Constitutional Court where the defendants used favorable rulings to defend themselves in court.
The complaint was filed by senators who said Yingluck Shinawatra’s party benefited from improperly transferring her national security chief in 2011. She argues it was a routine transfer.
“However, the Constitutional Court considers the rights of the people under the Constitution, while the courts of justice judge criminal liability based on a clear criminal act in order to convict or acquit.”
Winyat also pointed out that a violation of public law does not always constitute a criminal offense. They must be separated from each other. To be guilty of an offense, there must be clear criminal liability and all the elements of the offense must be met.
Some administrative or political acts may not be criminal offenses because they are not committed intentionally or with specific intent. For example, if an official issues an administrative order that does not comply with administrative law, this is not automatically a criminal offense. Otherwise, more than half of the civil servants in the country would be in prison.
Miss Yingluck was retroactively impeached on January 23, 2014 by the junta-appointed National Legislative Assembly, which voted overwhelmingly to ban her from politics for five years for allegedly failing to stop corruption in her administration’s rice-pledging policy.
She has fled Thailand since August 25, 2014, when she failed to appear in court, which sentenced her to five years in prison for corruption that occurred under her watch. She stayed and travelled with former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, her brother, and communicated with her supporters via social media.
When Thaksin returned to Thailand on August 22, 2023, Yingluck did not come home with him. She sent off her elder brother from Dubai to Singapore before Thaksin boarded his private jet to Thailand.
She sent her best wishes on Christmas Day this year and noted that it is time to thank one another. On that day, Wissanu Krea-ngam, the former Deputy PM in charge of legal affairs, said if Yingluck wants to make an inquiry for a royal pardon, she has to become an inmate first before she could apply for it, and the clemency decision is a royal prerogative.
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