Thailand-Cambodia boundary meeting in jeopardy

Apr 1, 2011
THE NATION/ANN

THAILAND - HOUSE speaker Chai Chidchob said on Thursday that he might be unable to convene a parliamentary session to consider the minutes of previous meetings in time.

'We need to wait for official notification from the constitution court and notify members three days in advance of the meeting,' he said. 'I don't yet know when we will be ready for the meeting.'

Mr Chai initially called a session to consider the JBC's meeting minutes on April 5.

The issue was complicated as a group of lawmakers led by the ruling Democrat Party's Sirichok Sopha appealed to the constitution court to rule on the need for Parliament to consider the JBC documents. The court on Wednesday rejected the request. As the court did not rule, Parliament needs to carry on with consideration of the documents in accordance with article 190 of the constitution, Mr Chai said.

Article 190 requires all documents deemed to be treaties to pass parliamentary approval before the government signs agreements with foreign countries or international organisations.

The JBC met last in April 2009 in Phnom Penh. It cannot convene the next meeting until the Thai parliament approves the minutes of three previous meetings.