The 30-member Constitution Drafting Committee began the first day of a section-by-section deliberation of the draft constitution's 315 sections on Thursday, with only a few minor changes being made.
The CDC considered the first two chapters of volume 1 of the draft which involves the king and rights and liberties of the people. Among the key changes, the panelists decided to remove the wording “political group” in Section 14 detailing qualification of a privy councillor.
Section 14 originally stipulated that a privy councillor shall not be a member or official of a political party, and must not manifest loyalty to any political party or political group.
The controversial provision that allows a merger between the Ombudsman and the National Human Rights Council (NHRC) and creates a new body named the "Office of the Ombudsman and Public Rights Protection" was formally erased from the draft. The idea had met with strong opposition from both agencies and a large part of civil society.
The CDC also adjusted clauses that would allow government officials can take an oath of allegiance in front of members of the royal family of legal age instead of to His Majesty only.
The CDC has until July 23 to look at the changes before sending the amended draft charter back to the National Rerom Council for a vote on Aug 6.
CDC spokesperson Supatra Nakapiew said the constitution drafters would start working on Section 34 about human rights on Friday.