NOVEMBER 2, 2010...5:02 AM
Constitutional Court in serious trouble
When opinion page writer at the Bangkok Post, Nattaya Chetchotiros, abandons the judges, then they are in trouble. She has a solid yellow-shirt/elite position on most things, and now she's worried that the judges and the Constitutional Court are too compromised to be saved.
Of course, this is about the leaked videos apparently showing the judges negotiating all kinds of special deals for the Democrat Party, arranging cover-ups and even scams on exams. Is this the "rule of law" Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva always bangs on about? Is this the legal system and judiciary he has repeatedly defended?
But back to Nattaya. This is some of what she says:
The release on Friday of a new video featuring a discussion between a former court employee and two men identified as judges has dealt a serious blow to the reputation of the Constitution Court.
The court's credibility has now been shaken to the core following the release of the latest video clips uploaded on Friday….
She tries to defend the Democrat Party and the court, but it is a battle already lost. The court has been proven to be the preserve of the corrupt and a place where elite interests are preserved from the most major cases down to dirty little scams to help buddies get positions. The judiciary is tarred with the brush that has been painting the colors of corruption and double standards for a considerable time.
One thing Nattaya highlights that PPT had neglected is that "three men shown in the footage, two of them identified as judges as their faces were clearly seen at the beginning of the clip, seemed to be discussing ways to cover up wrongdoings related to the leaking of examination papers to people close to Constitution Court judges…. The exam to recruit court staff was held last year [... and] was supervised by then secretary-general of the court Paiboon Varahapaitoon. Mr Paiboon, now a National Human Rights commissioner, is spoken about in the video for allegedly being involved in the recruitment scam, along with Constitution Court judge Jarun Pukditanakul."
Paiboon
This is the same Paiboon who recently reckoned thatselling flip-flops with Abhisit's face on them couldn't be allowed. He was also a member of the junta-appointed Constituent Assembly in 2006. At the quite hopelessly biased NHRC, Paiboon was appointed to chair a NHRC subcommittee, to investigate the events related to the government's crackdowns on red shirt demonstrators in April and May. Needless to say, that went nowhere. And, even earlier, he was one of those who arranged for the extraordinary events that saw the April 2006 election annulled. He's been well-rewarded for his yellow-shirted loyalty and he obviously joined that part of the elite that thinks social position trumps all other characteristics usually associated with courts and justice.
Jarun
And what can we say about Judge Jarun Pukditanakul also seen apparently scamming? How about this from a 2008 Asia Sentinel article: "In selecting the first four of the court's nine judges, the Supreme Court this week chose Jarun Pukditanakul. He became permanent secretary of the Justice Ministry after the coup and was instrumental in drafting the military's 2007 constitution that he will be tasked to uphold." Or this from Bangkok Pundit: "Mr Jarun is well known as a strong opponent of Mr Thaksin, while Mr Wasant was a defence witness in a libel suit filed by some former Constitution Court judges against Mr Thaksin's bitter enemy Prasong Soonsiri, who wrote an article criticising the judges who ruled in favour of the former prime minister in the asset concealment case. The article was published in Naew Na on Aug 28, 2001. Sqn-Ldr Prasong was cleared of the libel charge." Another elite workhorse rewarded for his loyalty in doing things for this corrupt ruling class.
Will they get a deserved comeuppance? Probably not what they deserve as their bosses are still in the political driving seat. Rule of law? Where?
...
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/politics/204315/fresh-footage-is-serious-blow-for-charter-judges
Fresh footage is serious blow for charter judges
ANALYSIS: New video that seems to show a discussion of a recruitment scam is far more damaging for the court
- Published: 2/11/2010 at 12:00 AM
- Newspaper section: NewsThe release on Friday of a new video featuring a discussion between a former court employee and two men identified as judges has dealt a serious blow to the reputation of the Constitution Court.
The new video clips appear to show three men discussing ways to avoid the fallout from a scandal involving an alleged bid to skew the recruitment process for court officials in favour of those with ties to judges.
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See also: Court vents fury over video clips
Again, the key player in the new video appears to be Pasit Sakdanarong, the secretary to the Constitution Court president Chat Cholaworn dismissed by the court on Oct 18.
Mr Pasit has also been linked to earlier video footage in which a Democrat Party MP is seen allegedly trying to lobby the charter court to spare the party dissolution for allegedly misusing 29 million baht from the Election Commission's political development fund.
The Constitution Court has set Nov29 as the date for the Democrats to deliver their closing statement in the trial.
Mr Pasit left the country for Hong Kong on Oct 13, two days before the clips were uploaded on YouTube under the user name "ohmygod 3009". The Puea Thai Party then played the five video clips to reporters on Oct 16.
The effects of these first video clips were not really so damaging. One appeared to show Democrat Party MP Wirat Romyen talking to Mr Pasit in what was claimed to be a bid to lobby the court on the party's behalf.
But many observers believe Mr Pasit set up the meeting, asked Mr Wirat leading questions and Mr Wirat was lured into taking the bait.
Other footage showed a meeting of Constitution Court judges, although nothing seemed amiss about this.
The court's credibility has now been shaken to the core following the release of the latest video clips uploaded on Friday under the same name.
The three men shown in the footage, two of them identified as judges as their faces were clearly seen at the beginning of the clip, seemed to be discussing ways to cover up wrongdoings related to the leaking of examination papers to people close to Constitution Court judges.
The Puea Thai Party has said it plans to release more videos that would implicate some of the judges in the alleged scam to influence the recruitment of court officials.
The exam to recruit court staff was held last year at the old offices of the Constitution Court near the Phahurat area before they were relocated to Chaeng Watthana Road. The exam was supervised by then secretary-general of the court Paiboon Varahapaitoon.
Mr Paiboon, now a National Human Rights commissioner, is spoken about in the video for allegedly being involved in the recruitment scam, along with Constitution Court judge Jarun Pukditanakul.
Puea Thai spokesman Prompong Nopparit yesterday said exam papers had been leaked to the children of Constitution Court judges and 15 people were recruited last year who had close ties to judges.
It would come as no surprise if the exposure of this scandal prompts the more than 10,000 applicants who sat the exam last year to petition the Administrative Court for the examination papers to be released and the marking examined.
At one point in the new set of video clips, the person indentified as Mr Pasit is heard to say the president of the Constitution Court was behind the filming of a video related to the alleged leaking of exam papers to candidates for use as a bargaining chip so he could stay on as president of the Constitution Court for another three years.
The repercussions from the release of the new clips will serve the interests of those who want to discredit and destroy the country's key institutions, including the courts, as a way of putting pressure on the judges who are trying the election funds case against the Democrat Party.
That makes sense because judges who are responsible for administering justice are regarded as upholders of high ethical and professional standards and examination fraud must not be allowed to take place at a court of justice.
The people identified as judges in the new video must step forward to explain themselves. If it is proved they are embroiled in a recruitment scam, it would be best for them to withdraw from the Democrat Party trial to clear up any suspicions the public might have about the judicial process.
The trial could carry on if they withdrew because there would still be five judges remaining responsible for the case.
However, lingering questions over the judges' overall credibility might be one more thing the court has to deal with.
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