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ดุลพาห

Public Participation in the Thai Legal System :

A Contemporary Outlook

Narun Popattanachai*

Sakkaphon Poomarin**

Abstract

Public participation is central to the administrative structure of the Thai
state since the inception of democratic governance in the 1930s. Although the

degree of popular involvement might have varied due to particular political and
social circumstances of the time, it is possible to track the rise of the people’s roles

in the country’s administrative governance through analyzing the administrative
procedural law (the current regime in place from 1997) as well as the present

constitutional setup (in effect on April 6 , 2017).
th
As the most fundamental law in Thailand, the Constitution’s main premise

is that the Thai people must be roped into the decision-making process when a

draft legislation or proposed executive action is deemed to have an impact upon

* Narun Popattanachai, J.S.D. (Columbia University, USA) is a legal counsel at the Fiscal and Financial
Law Division, Office of the Council of State of Thailand. He is the general editor of this article and

is the main author of the Introduction, Chapter 1 (Public Participation and the Thai Constitution), and
Conclusory Remarks (the Role of the People in An Age of Disruption).
** Sakkaphon Poomarin, LL.M. (Thammasart University, Thailand) is a legal counsel at the Legislative
Drafting Analysis Division, Office of the Council of State of Thailand. He is the main author for
Chapter 2 (Public Participation and the Administrative Law). Narun would like to personally thank
Nathita Premabhuti for her most helpful editorial and translation assistance. All remaining errors belong
of course to the authors jointly and severally.

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