Regarding this matter, there is an interesting and substantial opinion from a lawyer, such as Mr. Wat Tingsamit, an independent academic, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), who posted a message on Facebook stating that Ms. Paethongtarn Shinawatra can be removed from the position of Minister of Culture because it falls under the category of destroying the trust that the minister has received from the public, not a repeated lawsuit, which is prohibited by the Criminal Procedure Code. From

the leaked clip case, the case of Paethongtarn Shinawatra, the Prime Minister of Thailand, having a phone conversation with Hun Sen, President of the Cambodian Senate and former Prime Minister of Cambodia for decades, regarding the Thai-Cambodian border problem and the Constitutional Court. The unanimous decision to accept the petition for consideration, and a majority vote of 7 to 2 ordered Paethongtarn to temporarily cease performing her duties as prime minister, effective from July 1, 2025 onwards. A day earlier, a new minister was appointed, with Paethongtarn as Minister of Culture. The issue is whether, after Paethongtarn took the oath of office as Minister of Culture on July 3, 2025, a petition can be filed to remove Paethongtarn from her position as minister. The opinions are as follows:

1) The principle of no retrial (the principle of “ne bis in idem” in Latin or “double jeopardy” in English) is clearly stated in Thailand’s Criminal Procedure Code, stating that the right to bring a criminal case is suspended once there has been a final judgment on the offense for which the charge was filed (Criminal Procedure Code, Section 39(4)). This is in line with the principle of international law, stating that a person shall not be tried or punished again for an offense for which he has already been finally convicted or acquitted, according to the laws and criminal procedures of each country. (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 14, paragraph 7)

2) As for the removal of ministers, including the Prime Minister, by the Constitutional Court, it is a consideration of the constitutional case in the issue of the qualifications of the ministers, whether they are “apparently honest” and whether they have prohibited characteristics of the ministers, such as “no behavior that seriously violates or fails to comply with ethical standards” or not. It is not a problem regarding repeated prosecution of the same action, which is prohibited under the Criminal Procedure Code.

3) It can be said that the reason for the termination of the ministerial position under the Thai Constitution is the destruction of the trust that the minister has received from the public (the abuse or violation of some public trust), similar to Impeachment in the United States, which is a constitutional process in which the US Congress can use its power to impeach and remove high-ranking federal officials, including the President, Vice President, and other civilian officials, if they are found to have committed serious crimes.

4) Paethongtarn can be removed from the position of Minister of Culture due to her apparent lack of honesty and her behavior that seriously violates or fails to comply with ethical standards. This is because it constitutes an abuse or violation of some public trust, not a repeated prosecution, which is prohibited under the Criminal Procedure Code.

Of course, in the next few days, someone will definitely file a petition to remove Ms. Paethongtarn from the position of Minister of Culture. At this time, the “United Power of the Land to Protect Sovereignty” group has already reserved the Kathin, which they will submit soon.

However, what is very interesting to watch is whether Ms. Paethongtarn Shinawatra will join the new cabinet to swear an oath or not, because some people have already objected that she cannot do so. The Constitutional Court has already ordered “the minister to stop performing his duties as Prime Minister”, which is considered to be a problem whether it can be done or not. Importantly, she was accused of “ethics”, which is “behavior that seriously violates or fails to comply with ethical standards”, which is considered a big deal. For politicians, the ethics of politicians must be higher than the legal standard.

 

Meanwhile, even though in the end, it may not care about going to the death, that is, waiting to be called up first, then talk about it. After this, I will move to sit in the position of Minister of Culture, but I assure you that there will be no more elegance or credit left. It will be the most unstable government, shaken in every way, both externally and internally, which is the coalition parties themselves.
Since the government has a "thin" vote, every vote, every party is a bargaining chip, causing the government to have no time to solve problems or issue important policies. And with the skills and administrative abilities of Ms. Paethongtarn, which have been clearly seen in the past, everything will be many times more severe. 

This does not include the case where the names of new ministers in the new government have been revealed, which has made it even more "hopeless" because whether it is the old or new people, the new positions that have been added, they cannot give any hope. Let's say that from the front to the back of the line, they are all "luring targets" and creating a "disgusting trend" quite well.

And when the names of ministers were revealed, from the acting prime minister, Mr. Suriya Juangroongruangkit, to the real acting prime minister, Mr. Phumtham Vejjayachai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior. There are only “yuck” sounds

. Therefore, if we focus only on Ms. Paethongtarn Shinawatra, since the day the Constitutional Court ordered her to stop performing her duties as Prime Minister with a complaint about serious ethical standards, it has almost closed the way for her to return, whether as Prime Minister or even as a politician, because it is considered serious and has destroyed the dignity of the country to the point of being shattered. In particular, we must keep an eye on the new government after the cabinet reshuffle. How will it continue? When the name is revealed, there is no hope. It cannot instill confidence at all. Especially in a crisis on all sides like this, it is almost impossible to find a way out!!