Bangkok: Parliament has halted approval of the 400 billion baht loan decree, pending a ruling from the Constitutional Court. Mr. Lertsak Pattanachaikul, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, informed the House of Representatives regarding the Cabinet's approval of the Emergency Decree authorizing the Ministry of Finance to borrow money to address the energy crisis and facilitate the country's energy transition in 2026 (or the 400 billion baht borrowing decree). He stated that before Speaker Sophon Saram could include it on the agenda, Mr. Nattapong Ruangpanyawut, a list MP from the People's Party, along with 135 other MPs (no less than one-fifth of the total number of MPs in the House of Representatives), filed a petition requesting the Speaker to submit an opinion to the Constitutional Court arguing that the decree does not comply with Article 172, paragraph 1 of the Constitution. Therefore, the inclusion of this decree on the agenda must be postponed until the Constitutional Court issues its rulin g, as stipulated in Article 173 of the Constitution.
According to Thai News Agency, Article 173 of the Constitution mandates that the Constitutional Court must make a ruling within 60 days from the date of receiving the matter and must notify the President of the House of Representatives of its decision. If the Constitutional Court rules that a royal decree is not in accordance with Article 172 of the Constitution, that decree shall be null and void from the outset. A ruling by the Constitutional Court that a royal decree is not in accordance with the Constitution requires a vote of at least two-thirds of the total number of Constitutional Court judges, or currently at least 6 votes out of 9 judges.