Constitution of Thailand

Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand
Preamble of the Constitution
Overview
Original titleรัฐธรรมนูญแห่งราชอาณาจักรไทย
JurisdictionThailand
Created5 October 2015
Presented29 March 2016
Ratified6 April 2017
Date effective6 April 2017
SystemUnitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Government structure
Branches3
Head of stateMonarch
ChambersBicameral (National Assembly: Senate, House of Representatives)
ExecutiveCabinet, led by a Prime Minister
JudiciarySupreme Court
FederalismUnitary
Electoral collegeNo
History
Amendments1
Last amended7 November 2021
Author(s)Constitution Drafting Commission
SignatoriesVajiralongkorn
Supersedes2014 interim constitution of Thailand
Full text
Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand (2017) at Wikisource
Wikisource
The original copy of the 1932 constitution of Siam, the first constitution of Thailand, displayed at the Thai Parliament Museum, Bangkok. Each constitution was made in three copies handwritten on traditional folding books, kept at the Parliament Secretariat, the Cabinet Secretariat, and the King's Secretariat, respectively.
The initial pages of the 1952 constitution of Thailand, to which King Bhumibol Adulyadej affixed his signature and his regnal seal, accompanied by the three seals of the realm on the above.

The Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand (Thai: รัฐธรรมนูญแห่งราชอาณาจักรไทย; RTGS: Ratthathammanun Haeng Ratcha-anachak Thai) provides the basis for the rule of law in Thailand. Since the abolition of the absolute monarchy in 1932, Thailand has had 20 charters or constitutions (as of 2015), an average of one roughly every four years.[1] Many changes followed military coups, reflecting the high degree of political instability in the country. After each successful coup, military regimes abrogated the existing constitution, generally without public consultation.

The 1997 constitution of Thailand, often called the "people's constitution", was considered a landmark in terms of the degree of public participation involved in its drafting as well as the democratic nature of its articles. It stipulated an elected bicameral legislature, and many human rights were explicitly acknowledged for the first time. Many of these reforms disappeared in the military coup of 2006.

The current constitution was adopted in 2017. The 105-page, 279-article proposed constitution[2][3] was approved by 61.4 percent of Thai voters with 59.4 percent of the public participating. It allows the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to appoint an eight to ten person panel who will choose Senators,[4] and includes six seats reserved for the heads of the Royal Thai Army, Navy, Air Force, and Police, plus the military's supreme commander, and defense permanent secretary. The bicameral Parliament could also select a candidate as Prime Minister who is not one of its members or even a politician. Critics suggest it effectively allows the military to control the government whatever the outcome of subsequent elections.

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