Readings on Thai Justice: A Review Essay.

How far can judges hope to address Thailand’s political problems? This article reviews six Thai-language books dealing with various aspects of the judiciary, exploring the historical and intellectual origins of the institution. Thirayudh Boonmee’s 2006 call for a judicialisation of politics – his ow...

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Published in:Asian Studies Review Vol. 39; no. 1; pp. 23 - 38
Main Author: McCargo, Duncan
Format: Essay
Published: Taylor & Francis Ltd Mar2015
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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        10.1080/10357823.2014.992860
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        atl: Readings on Thai Justice: A Review Essay.
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        au: McCargo, Duncan
        affil: University of Leeds/Columbia University
      su:
        Political participation of judges
        Law
        Thai politics & government
        Training of judges
        Judicial power
        Courts
        Thai monarchy
        Thailand
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          Thailand
          Political participation of judges
          Law
          Thai politics & government
          Training of judges
          Judicial power
          Courts
          Thai monarchy
      keyword:
        judges
        judicialisation
        politics
      ab: How far can judges hope to address Thailand’s political problems? This article reviews six Thai-language books dealing with various aspects of the judiciary, exploring the historical and intellectual origins of the institution. Thirayudh Boonmee’s 2006 call for a judicialisation of politics – his own elaboration of two important royal speeches – builds on judges’ longstanding belief that they are acting “in the name of the King”. But their narrow, formalistic training ill-equips them to exercise broad powers. The article contrasts judges’ idealised self-understandings (as seen in a popular book on how to become a judge by Natthapakon Phitchayapanyatham, and in the 2010 Judicial Code of Ethics) with revisionist perspectives on the judiciary developed by critical scholars Nidhi Eoseewong, Piyabutr Saengkanokkul, and Somchai Preechasilapakul. Whereas judges may imagine themselves to be acting directly on behalf of the monarchy, revisionist scholars insist that since 1932 judges have formed part of a modern democratic order, in which they need to be more transparent and accountable. A close reading of these books reveals that there is no shared agreement in Thai society about the nature or basis of judicial authority.
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    language: English
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      custom: Copyright of Asian Studies Review is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
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