US embassy cable - 05BANGKOK4818

UNCLAS BANGKOK 004818 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, SOCI, TH, Supreme Court - Thai 
SUBJECT: THAI JUDICIAL COMMISSION UNANIMOUSLY ELECTS NEW 
SUPREME COURT PRESIDENT 
 
NEW SUPREME COURT PRESIDENT ELECTED 
 
1. (U) On July 25, the Thai Judicial Commission (JC) 
unanimously elected Mr. Chanchai Likhitjittha, 59, to be the 
new President of the Supreme Court.  Chanchai will replace 
Mr. Supphachai Phoo-ngam, who will retire on September 30. 
Chanchai has served on the Supreme Court since 1998, and is 
currently the Court's Third Vice-President.  As President of 
the Supreme Court, Chanchai will be in charge of 
administrative functions and will not adjudicate cases. 
 
THE STRUCTURE OF THE THAI SUPREME COURT 
 
2. (U) The 15-member JC that elected Mr. Chanchai is composed 
of the Supreme Court President and fourteen commissioners. 
These commissioners are elected from among judges at all 
levels of the national court system.  In addition to electing 
the court's President, the JC is tasked with making judicial 
appointments, promotions and transfers, and has the power to 
discipline sitting judges.  The election of the President is 
generally viewed as an apolitical process. 
 
3. (U) The full membership of the Thai Supreme Court consists 
of 86 justices. When a case is brought before the Supreme 
Court, three justices from among their number are chosen to 
hear it, and together they issue a single verdict. Supreme 
Court appointments have generally not been a source of 
controversy in Thailand. The election of Mr. Chanchai was 
barely covered in the Thai press, and there was no national 
debate about his beliefs or political ideology. 
 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 
 
4. (U) Chanchai Likhitjittha was born on April 25, 1946. He 
received a BA in Law from Thammasat University in 1969 and 
was appointed to the Thai Bar in 1971. He began his career as 
an Assistant Judge in 1972, and was appointed as a Civil 
Court Judge in 1987, and a Judge of the Court of Appeal in 
1990. He was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1998, and 
became the Court's Third Vice-President (out of a total of 
three) in 2004. 
BOYCE