Thailand´s 1978 Constitution and Its Implications

Abstract

On 24 June 1932 the centuries-old Absolute Monarchy of Thailand was overthrown in a bloodless coup staged by the People's Party composed of Western-educated military and civilian elites. A constitutional government was then introduced into Thailand with the King as Head of the State. An Interim Constitution was promul gated on 27 June 1932 in which a mechanism was devised to ensure that the People's Party would be able to run the country during the transitional period. It was provided that the House of Representa tives, which was a supreme constitutional body, would be composed of members appointed by the People's Party during the first transi tional period. After the country returned to normalcy, it would be composed of two categories of members equal in number and power, for the second transitional period of ten years following the promul gation of the Interim Constitution or until half of the electorate completed their primary schooling, whichever came first. The first category of members would be elected by the people and the second category appointed by the People's Party. This mechanism was later reaffirmed in a new constitution promulgated on 10 December 1932. It can therefore be said that the Thai system of government provided for in the first two constitutions was not a full-fledged parliamentary system; it was a system of military tutelage planned to be in operation for a transitional period of ten years, or less if half of the electorate completed primary schooling before the end of ten years. As the military leaders were unwilling to step down at the expiry of the second transitional period of ten years, the 1932 Constitution was amended for the purpose of extending the period of tutelage from ten to twenty years. The 1932 Constitution was, however, replaced by a new constitu tion which was promulgated on 8 May 1946, at a time when the military leaders of the People's Party were imprisoned as a result of their wartime collaboration with the Japanese. Under this new con