The Office of the Judicial Commission (OJC) on Tuesday dismissed a former chief justice of the Civil Court in Bangkok for showing favouritism in cases related to the Narongdej family dispute.
Chairing the OJC meeting, Supreme Court president Adisak Tantiwong said that the dismissal order followed CCTV footage showing the former chief justice entering a litigant’s house.
According to the commission, the former chief justice had maintained personal relationships with the case’s litigants or with others relevant to the case. The former chief justice also acted in favour of litigants in the distribution of case files.
These actions undermined public trust in the judicial system and constituted a serious violation of disciplinary regulations, the commission said.
The commission also reviewed a case against the deputy chief justice of the same court. The judge is accused of providing an opinion regarding the repatriation of case files from another court, violating regulations, procedures, and official practices under Section 33 of the Judicial Court Act.
This is considered a minor disciplinary offence, and the judge is advised to withhold promotion or salary increases for two years, said the OJC.
This deputy chief judge is the person who reportedly claimed that the chief judge of the same court had solicited a large sum of money, alleged to be 100 million baht, in exchange for having the case revoked. Later investigations found no evidence that such a bribery exchange ever occurred.
Responding to the dismissal, Was Tingsamit, former senior justice of the Supreme Court, said that the order was issued in consideration of people’s trust in the justice system.
This means that even though no bribery amounting to 100 million baht was committed, an erosion of public trust in the judicial system has already occurred.
The OJC’s grounds for dismissal were not concerned with terms like “corruption in office” or “accepting bribes”, said Mr Was.