Taking Rights Seriously? Recent Shifts in Procedural and Substantive Matters of the Thai Constitutional Court

Abstract

The Thai Constitutional Court has recently dealt with more cases concerning constitutional rights such as those involving abortion and same-sex marriage, gaining widespread public attention similar to its many cases on political issues. This new development may show that the Court has now performed its role as a constitutional guardian and bulwark of rights. But the expansion of the caseload on rights may promote judicial activism and thus indicate a new strategy for the Court to be more powerful. This article looks at both the substantive changes in the jurisprudence of the Court as well as the procedural adjustments in recent court cases to determine the extent to which the Court has transformed itself to the ideal image of a great constitutional court in a comparative context. The Article analyzes all constitutional rights cases decided since 2019 to gauge the overall performance of the Court. Moreover, the Article also provides some examples of cases that seemingly protect constitutional rights but simultaneously expand the powers of the Court in the future. The analysis then suggests that while the Court might have facially helped protect more rights, it comes with a cost of a potentially even more active and political Court.