Government agencies have been asked to review Section 44 orders and propose which ones should be passed into law to ensure they remain in effect after the dissolution of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO).
Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said on Wednesday that orders issued under Section 44 of the interim constitution and which the government wants to stay in force would be proposed to the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) for scrutiny. Otherwise, these orders would lapse upon the dissolution of the NCPO after the general election, he said.
Critics say the move risks prolonging the military's influence on politics and is unfair. Section 44 orders are issued by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha in his capacity as head of the NCPO. They are as good as laws. Mr Wissanu said this move will also deter government agencies from asking the NCPO chief unnecessarily to issue Section 44 orders to tackle problems.
According to Mr Wissanu, after the dissolution of the NCPO, Section 44 orders can be revoked by a law. However, if they are administrative orders such as transfers of state officials, they can be revoked by a cabinet resolution. "We've made lists of Section 44 orders and divided them into groups: which ones can be revoked by a law and which can be revoked by a cabinet resolution. We do make plans on how these orders will end up," he said.
Mr Wissanu said about 50 orders have been issued under Section 44 and those likely to remain in effect are the ones concerning land reform for farming programmes. The deputy prime minister also said Gen Prayut has ordered criteria for Section 44 orders to be written down to prevent unnecessary use of the power.
These criteria will be used as guidelines for ministerial officials when they ask the NCPO chief to use his power under Section 44 to ease their work, he added.
Mr Wissanu said Section 44 orders are issued to address urgent or key issues of national reform, restructuring, security, public safety and economic issues. He said the NCPO chief has never issued a Section 44 order to intervene in any judicial matter.
Pheu Thai Party legal expert Chusak Sirinil has voiced opposition to further use of Section 44 because the 2017 constitution is now in place. "Even though the charter allows its use, restraint is urged, unless it is totally necessary," he said.
Angkana Neelapaijit, human rights commissioner, said Section 44 has helped the military retain its influence and could lead to human rights violations concerning use of natural resources. She said there was no need to turn Section 44 orders into legal codes.
The government can still make a graceful exit by letting those rules created by Section 44 expire, or letting legislators remove them after the poll, she said.