Thailand’s top court won’t rule on PM’s failure to pledge 'duty to constitution'

The Constitutional Court of Thailand on Wednesday declined to rule on a controversy over the new prime minister having omitted a vow to uphold the constitution when he was sworn in as a civilian leader.

The court said on Wednesday that the swearing-in was between the king and the cabinet, and “the oath to the king is therefore not under the review authority of any agencies.”

PM Prayuth Chan-ocha and 35 cabinet ministers pledged their loyalty to King Maha Vajiralongkorn at a ceremony at a Bangkok palace on July 16 but they left out the last sentence of the official oath, which is about upholding and complying with the constitution, Reuters said.

Opposition parties say it implies that Prayuth, who led a military junta for five years, may not feel bound by the rule of law. Prayuth, the army chief at the time, scrapped the previous constitution when he seized power in a 2014 coup.