Guarantee of budget allocation According to the provisions of Section 141, paragraph two, of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand, B.E. 2017 Study only the cases of the Constitutional Court

Abstract

His article aims to study the appropriate legal measures regarding the allocation of sufficient budget and independence for the performance of duties of the Constitutional Court in accordance with Section 141, Paragraph Two of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand B.E. 2560, in the case of the Constitutional Court, which is an organization exercising judicial power, with the Office of the Constitutional Court responsible for administrative work that is independent in personnel management, budget, and other operations for the Constitutional Court. In terms of budget, if the principles of the state budget allocation method are analyzed, the budget method is still the same as other state agencies in general, which are under the budget law, which is the same central law that the exercisers of legislative and executive power consider allocating according to the law and budget method. For this reason, the author believes that the Constitutional Court, as an organization exercising judicial power, should have legal measures regarding the allocation of budget that is appropriate, sufficient, and independent for the performance of duties in order to achieve tangible results in terms of creating guarantees of budget independence, in accordance with the intention of the Constitution that guarantees it. Therefore, the legal measures are recommended, consisting of 4 principles as follows :

(1) Budgeting is very important and is considered an upstream process as the proverb says, “The foundation is important. Without a strong foundation, it cannot stand firmly.” In practice, the upstream budget process should have legal force regarding the determination of criteria and methods for the process of requesting and allocating budgets of the Constitutional Court. The percentage of the budget must be clearly determined and consistent with the budget management principles of the previous fiscal year.

(2) Preparation of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on cooperation in the area of an independent budget system in accordance with the principles of good fiscal discipline between the Budget Bureau and the Constitutional Court, the Office of the Constitutional Court, and organizations under the provisions of Section 141, paragraph two of the Constitution, namely the Parliament, the Court, independent organizations, or the Office of the Attorney General.

(3) Amendment of the Budget Procedure Act in the category of budget allocation to organizations under the provisions of Section 141, paragraph two of the Constitution, namely the Parliament, the Court, independent organizations, or the Office of the Attorney General, in order to have a budget method that can be applied jointly and individually.

(4) Determining the status of the law in the case of the Constitutional Court’s surplus budget, to be consistent with the principles of good fiscal discipline.