Former education minister Chaturon Chaisaeng on Wednesday asked the Bangkok Military Court to first seek a ruling on whether his case should be handled by a court-martial or in the civilian courts of justice.
Mr Chaturon has been indicted in the Bangkok Military Court on three charges: defying the National Council for Peace and Order's direction that he report to the junta, inciting unrest in violation of Section 116 of the Criminal Code, and breaching Section 14 (3) of the 2007 Computer Act.
The three charges carry a total penalty of 14 years in prison. All sentences are cummulative.
He was arrested on May 26 after a press briefing at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT) in Bangkok.
Mr Chaturon was initially scheduled to testify to the court on Sept 1, but the hearing was postponed to Oct 15 at Mr Chaturon's request.
When Mr Chaturon and his lawyer, Narinpong Jinapak, appeared before the court today they submitted a request that the court to forward the case to a committee to decide whether it should be handled by a military court or the civilian courts of justice.
The request was made under a 2009 law covering settling of doubts over the powers of different types of courts.
Mr Chaturon argued that his alleged offences were committed on May 22-24 and May 27. Although the NCPO's announcement Nos 37 and 38, which required offenders to be tried in a military court, were issued on May 25, they were not published in the Royal Gazette until May 30 and took effect from May 31. The announcements could not be enforced retroactively, he said.
Therefore, his case should be handled by the Criminal Court, not the military court, Mr Chaturon argued.
Moreover, the two NCPO announcements also contradicted Section 4 of the 2014 interim constitution, he said.
Mr Chaturon said he also sought the Military Court's permission to leave the country on a trip to Chengdu, China, on Oct 17-23.
The court granted him permission without any conditions and he is to report to the court on Oct 28 after returning from China, Mr Chaturon said.