High drama surrounds the abolition of the so-called "Thai Marshals", an enforcement unit under the Justice Ministry, and the ministry's permanent secretary has found himself in hot water.
Little is known among the general public about just exactly who the marshals are, let alone what they do. That was until recently when the ministry announced it was going to axe the marshal unit.
Modelled on the US Marshals Service, the Thai unit was tasked with enforcing court rulings, although it was frequently argued that the police were already doing that job. Therefore, the marshals were redundant.
But what really led to the Thai marshal unit
being scrapped was the fact that there was no law to support its functioning and which would have given it legal status.
The marshal unit was set up in 2010 during the Abhisit administration and had 66 officers under its wing. But with its abolition, the officers are being transferred to other government units such as the Witness Protection Office and the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission.
Although the unit has ceased to exist, the transfer of its officers has emerged as a prickly issue for justice permanent secretary Chatchawal Suksomjit.
But to be more precise, the sore point is how the officers were shifted.
A major controversy surrounds the method of sending the officers to other units under the Justice Ministry. They were selected by means of a drawing of lots, which was endorsed by Pol Gen Chatchawal.
A source at the ministry said the drawing of lots, which was criticised as an affront to the merit system in determining who should be promoted or transferred, was the idea of a senior ministry official loyal to a former justice permanent secretary.
However, the senior official has managed to sidestep any backlash after Pol Gen Chatchawal signed the order endorsing the method.
Some ministry officials were concerned that unconventional as it was in the normal sense of things, the transfers might be met with legal complaints from those involved.
They argued that lot drawing was not recognised by ministry regulations as a legal and proper way of allocating or re-allocating personnel.
However, the permanent secretary reserved his right to use his discretion in opting for this method, as long as he could justify his decision.
In his defence, Pol Gen Chatchawal insists lot drawing, which came, he said, from an idea from a group of ministry officials, was a timely approach and well-suited to the purpose of redistributing manpower.
He explained that in the case of the Thai marshals, the abolition of the unit did not constitute a pretext for a reshuffle, which would have made lot drawing inexcusable.
The source said many marshals were not happy to find themselves placed in other ministry units. They felt the method had been imposed upon them.
They decided to file a petition with the Administrative Court and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to demand justice over their transfer.
After hearing the news of the petition, Pol Gen Chatchawal and other officials rushed into a closed-door meeting with Justice Minister Gen Paiboon Koomchaya. What was discussed has not been disclosed.
High drama surrounds the abolition of the so-called "Thai Marshals", an enforcement unit under the Justice Ministry, and the ministry's permanent secretary has found himself in hot water. Little is known among the general public about just exactly who the marshals are, let alone what they do. That was until recently when the ministry announced it was going to axe the marshal unit. Modelled on the US Marshals Service, the Thai unit was tasked with enforcing court rulings, although it was frequently argued that the police were already doing that job. Therefore, the marshals were redundant. But what really led to the Thai marshal unit being scrapped was the fact that there was no law to support its functioning and which would have given it legal status. The marshal unit was set up in 2010 during the Abhisit administration and had 66 officers under its wing. But with its abolition, the officers are being transferred to other government units such as the Witness Protection Office and the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission. Although the unit has ceased to exist, the transfer of its officers has emerged as a prickly issue for justice permanent secretary Chatchawal Suksomjit. But to be more precise, the sore point is how the officers were shifted. A major controversy surrounds the method of sending the officers to other units under the Justice Ministry. They were selected by means of a drawing of lots, which was endorsed by Pol Gen Chatchawal. A source at the ministry said the drawing of lots, which was criticised as an affront to the merit system in determining who should be promoted or transferred, was the idea of a senior ministry official loyal to a former justice permanent secretary. However, the senior official has managed to sidestep any backlash after Pol Gen Chatchawal signed the order endorsing the method. Some ministry officials were concerned that unconventional as it was in the normal sense of things, the transfers might be met with legal complaints from those involved. They argued that lot drawing was not recognised by ministry regulations as a legal and proper way of allocating or re-allocating personnel. However, the permanent secretary reserved his right to use his discretion in opting for this method, as long as he could justify his decision. In his defence, Pol Gen Chatchawal insists lot drawing, which came, he said, from an idea from a group of ministry officials, was a timely approach and well-suited to the purpose of redistributing manpower. He explained that in the case of the Thai marshals, the abolition of the unit did not constitute a pretext for a reshuffle, which would have made lot drawing inexcusable. The source said many marshals were not happy to find themselves placed in other ministry units. They felt the method had been imposed upon them. They decided to file a petition with the Administrative Court and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to demand justice over their transfer. After hearing the news of the petition, Pol Gen Chatchawal and other officials rushed into a closed-door meeting with Justice Minister Gen Paiboon Koomchaya. What was discussed has not been disclosed.
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