ABSTRACT THE JUDICIALIZATION OF POLITICS: AN EXAMINATION OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE COURT OF THAILAND Aaron Micah Johnson, Ph.D. Department of Political Science Northern Illinois University, 2016 Kheang Un, Director Since 2000, Thailand’s judiciaries have decided the fate of polls, politicians, political parties and policies. Such frequent incursions into uncharted political waters signals a tide of new and largely opaque activities that scholars refer to as “the judicialization of politics.” This dissertation provides an account of the judicialization of Thai politics through an examination of the Administrative Court of Thailand. It focuses on the particular actions of both judges and plaintiffs as necessary to explain the phenomenon. In addition, this study attempts to examine the effects of the judicialization of Thai politics upon not only the immediate parties involved in disputes but also expands beyond to cover larger political, social and economic questions. NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY DE KALB, ILLINOIS MAY 2016 THE JUDICIALIZATION OF POLITICS: AN EXAMINATION OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE COURT OF THAILAND BY Aaron Micah Johnson ©2016 Aaron Micah Johnson A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE Doctoral Director: Kheang Un ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I dedicate this dissertation to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I want to thank my family and friends for supporting me and encouraging me to finish. There are so many people who have helped me over the years that it would be an additional dissertation to mention them all. I would like to thank my Committee Chair, Dr. Kheang Un, for his support, patience in reading drafts, and sense of humor. I want to thank Dr. Allen Hicken and Dr. Mitch Pickerill for their patience, useful comments, and encouragement. I want to thank Dr. John Hartmann for assisting my return to DeKalb and for providing an environment of friendship and much-needed support. Finally, I want to express my sincerest appreciation to the Department of Political Science and Center for Southeast Asian Studies for financial assistance and encouragement throughout my tenure as a student. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................. vi LIST OF FIGURES ...............................................................................................................viii Chapter 1. ENTER THE COURTS ............................................................................................. 1 The Judicialization of Politics: Approaches and Aversions ...................................... 7 More Politicalization than the Judicialization of Politics: Current Approaches, Narrow Questions and Predictable Explanations .......................................................13 Significance of the Study ...........................................................................................18 Key Research Questions ............................................................................................21 Dissertation Outline ...................................................................................................22 2. JUDICIALIZATION OF POLITICS LITERATURE REVIEW ..............................25 Defining the Judicialization of Politics ......................................................................26 The Judicialization of Politics: Key Explanations of Empowerment ........................35 Understanding the Judicialization of Politics through the Administrative Court of Thailand: Towards a Framework.................................................................50 The Judicialization of Thai Politics: Calls for the Administrative Court ..................55 Conclusion .................................................................................................................57 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...............................................................................58 Conceptual Overview.................................................................................................59 Hypotheses .................................................................................................................69 iv Chapter .......................................................................................................................Page Methodology and Data ............................................................................................... 7 Methodology and Data Shortcomings ....................................................................... 76 4. THE ADMINISTRATIVE COURT OF THAILAND: ORIGIN, PROCESS AND SIGNIFICANCE ............................................................. 78 Prelude to the Court: Justice and the Struggle to Establish the Administrative Court ............................................................................................. 79 The Administrative Court: Key Actors, Jurisdiction, and Powers .............................. 93 Plaintiffs and Judges: Powers and Privileges ..............................................................106 Activating the Administrative Court: Process .............................................................118 Judicial Independence: Institutional Arrangements ....................................................122 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................127 5. FROM INDIVIDUALS TO PLAINTIFFS ................................................................129 Why Did They Sue the State? Contending Explanations ..........................................130 Why They Sue: Perceptions of Elected and Unelected Institutions ..........................132 In Their Own Words: Former Administrative Court Plaintiffs .................................152 Judicialization and the Questions of Its Effects .........................................................161 Conclusion .................................................................................................................162 6. STRATEGIC INTERACTIONS: JUDGES AS KINGS AND SERVANTS ............163 Calculated Decisions: The Court-centric Approach ..................................................164 Section One: Who Are the Administrative Court Judges? ........................................171 Section Two: Factors Impacting Decision-making....................................................176 Section Three: Judges’ Perceptions ...........................................................................184 Section Four: Impact on Politicians ...........................................................................193 v Chapter Page Conclusion .................................................................................................................196 7. CURIOUS COURT CASES AND POLITICAL PERMEATIONS ..........................198 Case Studies: Insight and Importance ........................................................................199 The Beginning of the End: The Electricity-Generating Authority of Thailand (Case Number 5/2549, 2006) .................................................201 Going Green: The People v. The Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate (Court order 592/2009) ..............................................................................................221 Bad Bosses and Significant Losses: Thawil Bpleensri v. Yingluck Shinawatra (Court of First Instance decision: 847/2556) Supreme Administrative Court decision: 33/2557) ...................................................232 Conclusion .................................................................................................................237 8. CONCLUSION ..........................................................................................................243 The Judicialization of Thai Politics: Future Research and Recommendations ..........254 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................256 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Overall Number of Administrative Court Cases Accepted from 2001-2013 .................... 3 2. 2013 Cases Accepted by the Supreme Administrative Court: 2001-2013 By Category and Year .............................................................................100 3. 2013 Cases Adjudicated by the Supreme Administrative Court: 2001-2013 By Category and Year ............................................................................101 4. Current Regional Administrative Courts of First Instance and Corresponding Jurisdictions Structure ................................................................................................102 5. Central (Bangkok) Administrative Courts of First Instance and Corresponding Provinces within its Jurisdictions ......................................................103 6. Futuristic Composition of Regional Administrative Courts of First Instance and Corresponding Provinces within its Jurisdictions .......................................................103 7. Total Number of Consultations by Year and Type ............................................................110 8. Office of Case Enforcement Statistics Based on the Accused Parties 2001-2013 ...........117 9. KPI: Public Perceptions of Trust in Public Institutions .....................................................134 10. 2010-11 Global Corruption Barometer Perceptions of Corruption in Public Institutions