Thailand 2007 Constitution

CHAPTER V. DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF FUNDAMENTAL STATE POLICIES

Part 1. General Provisions

Section 75

Provisions in this Chapter express the intention to the State to legislate and direct policies in administering the State affairs.

In the policy statement to the National Assembly, the Council of Ministers, which is to assume the administration of the State affairs, shall expressly declare to the National Assembly what activities are to carry out in what associated timeframe in order to administrating the State affairs in compliance with the Directive Principles of Fundamental State Policies, and shall prepare a report of performance progress, including problems and obstacles encountered before the National Assembly once a year.

Section 76

The Council of Ministers shall prepare the national administration plan to present the measures and details of direction of official performances for each year of administration, which shall be in compliance with the Directive Principles of Fundamental State Policies.

In administration of the State affairs, the Council of Ministers shall prepare a plan to enact the necessary legislation for the execution of the administration policy and program.

Part 2. Policy Directive on the Security of the State

Section 77

The State shall protect and uphold the institution of kingship, the independence, the sovereignty, and integrity of its territories, and shall arrange for the maintenance of the armed forces, weapons and military equipments, and adequate, necessary, modern technology for the protection and upholding of its independence, sovereignty, security of the State, institution of kingship, national interests, and the democratic regime of government with the King as Head of the State, and for national development.

Part 3. Policy Directive on Administration of the State Affairs

Section 78

The State shall implement the policy directive on administration of the state affairs as follows:

1. Administration of the State affairs shall aim for sustainable social, economic, and national security development; provided that the implementation of the sustainable economic philosophy shall be promoted and the overall national interests shall be vitally regarded.
2. Systematize the Central Administration, the Regional Administration, and the Local Administration with the refine area, authority, and responsibility that are suitable for national development, and encourage the provincial authority to prepare plans and budget for provincial development for the interests of people in the locality.
3. Decentralize of powers to the local administration organizations for the purpose of independence and self-determination of local affairs, encourage local administration organizations to give participation in the Directive Principles of Fundamental State Policies, develop local economics, public utilities and facilities systems, as well as the fundamental information infrastructure in the locality thoroughly and equally throughout the country, develop a province that is ready into a large-sized local administration organization with regard to the will of people in that province.
4. Develop the State administrative system with emphasis to quality development, good morals, and ethics of the State officials in tandem with improvement of the model and method of operations to ensure efficient administration of the State affairs, and encourage State organs to adopt the principles of Good Governance as direction for performing government services.
5. Systematize the government services and other State affairs in order to make management and delivery of public services timely, efficiently, transparently, accountably, with regard to public participation.
6. Ensure the State agencies working on legal affairs that have duties to provide opinions on public administration, and vet the State legislation, to function independently, for the administration of the State affairs is based on the rule of law.
7. Prepare a political development plan, and set up an independent political council to strictly monitor the implementation of such plan.
8. Ensure that the government officials and State employees receive adequate fringe benefits.

Part 4. Policy Directive on Religion, Social, Public Health, Education and Culture

Section 79

The State shall patronize and protect Buddhism, which is the religion the majority of Thai people have practiced for long time, and other religions, promote good understanding and harmony among followers of all religions, as well as encourage the application of religious principles to create virtue and develop the quality of life.

Section 80

The State shall carry out the Policy Directive on Social, Public Health, Education, and Culture as follows:

1. Protect and develop children and youth; support the rise up, care, and education at the primary level; promote the equality between women and men; create and develop the family institution’s integrity and the strength of communities; provide aids and welfare to the elderly, the indigent, the disabled or handicapped and the underprivileged for their good quality of life and ability to depend on themselves.
2. Promote, support, and develop the health system that emphasizes the health promotion for people to enjoy a sustainable state of happiness; provide and promote the standardized public health service to people universally and efficiently; and encourage private sector and community to participate in the health development and provision of public health services, provided that persons who deliver such services and perform their duties as to the professional standard and ethics, shall be protected by law.
3. Develop the quality and standard of education management in all levels and all types in compliance with the changing economic and social environment; to prepare the national education plan and laws for development of the national education; develop the quality of teachers and educational personnel to progressively follow up with to changing of the world community; implant the learners to aware and recognize of Thai identity, disciplines, public interests, and adhere to the democratic regime of government with the King as Head of State.
4. Promote and support decentralization of powers for the local administration organizations, communities, religious organizations, and private sector, to organize and participate in the education management for development and equality of education quality and standard and in consistence to the Directive Principles of Fundamental State Policies.
5. Promote and support the research in various academic branches, and disseminate those State- subsidized information and research results.
6. Promote and support love and harmony, learning, awareness, and disseminate arts, cultures, traditions, and customs of the nation, as well as good social values and local knowledge and intellectuals.

Part 5. Policy Directive on Legal Affairs and Justice

Section 81

The State shall follow the Policy Directive on Legal Affairs and Justice as follows:

1. Supervise to ensure the accurate, timely, impartial, and universal implementation and enforcement of laws; promote the legal aids and legal learning among people; organize the bureaucratic system and other State affairs in the field of justice administration to work efficiently; participation by people and professional organization in the justice procedure and public legal aids shall be regarded.
2. Protect rights and liberties of a person from being violated by both State officials and other people, and provide the equal justice to all people.
3. Enact a law to establish an independent agency for law reform with functions to improve and develop the laws in the country, as well as amend the laws to be consistent to the Constitution, with regard to the public opinions and hearing by the people affected by those laws.
4. Enact a law to establish an independent agency to reform the procedure of criminal justice, with function to improve and develop the operations of the agencies involving with the criminal justice procedure.
5. Support the operations of private organizations that provide the legal aides to people, particularly those affected by the domestic violence.

Part 6. Policy Directive on Foreign Relations

Section 82

The State shall promote friendly relations and cooperation with other countries and adopt the principle of non-discrimination, and shall observe the treaties and agreements on human rights that Thailand is a member, as well as other commitments that have made with other countries and international organizations.

The State shall promote trade, investment, and tourism with other countries, and shall provide protection and oversee the interests of Thai citizens abroad.

Part 7. Policy Directive on Economics

Section 83

The State shall promote and support the implementation of philosophy of sufficiency economy.

Section 84

The State shall follow the Policy Directive on Economics as follows:

1. Encourage a free and fair economic system through market force, and encourage the sustainable economic development by abolishing and refraining the enactment of laws and regulations supervising the businesses that are inconsistent to the business necessity; shall not engage in an enterprise in competition with the private sector, except it is necessary and beneficial for maintaining the security of the State, preserving the common interests, or providing public utilities.
2. Promote the practice of virtues, ethics, and good governance in business affairs.
3. Control and maintain monetary and fiscal disciplines in support to the country’s economic and social stability and security; improve the tax systems to ensure fairness consistent with the changing social and economic environment.
4. Manage for savings for the living at old age among people and State officials thoroughly.
5. Supervise the business activities to ensure free and fair competition; prevent monopoly and cut off, directly or indirectly; and protect the consumers’ interests.
6. Implement fair distribution of incomes; protect, promote, and expand the business opportunities among people for economic development, including promote and support the development of local and Thai knowledge and intellectuals to generate goods, services, and jobs.
7. Promote people at working age to obtain employment; protect child and woman labor; organize system of labor relations and labor tripartite, which workers have rights to elect their own representatives; provide social security system; protect workers, who work on the same type of job, to ensure they get wages, fringe benefits, and welfare equally and impartially.
8. Protect and maintain the interests of farmers in production and marketing; promote the highest price possible for agricultural products; encourage the grouping of farmers in the form of the farmer council in order to work out on the agricultural plan and protect their common interests.
9. Promote, encourage, and protect the co-operatives system and its independence, as well as the grouping by occupations or professions of the people to carry out their economic activities.
10. Provide basic public utilities necessary for the people’s livelihood in the interest of maintaining economic security of the State, provided that such basic public utilities shall not be monopolized by private that shall be detriment to the State.
11. Any act that shall cause the fundamental structure or network of basic public utilities necessary for the people’s livelihood, or for the security of the State, fall into the private ownership, or reduce the status of State ownership to less than 51% shall not be permitted.
12. Promote and support the commercial maritime business, rail transportation, and implement the management of domestic and international transportation system.
13. Promote and support the strength of the economic private organizations both at local level and national level.
14. Promote the agricultural product processing industry in order to increase the economic values.

Part 8. Policy Directive on Land, Natural Resource, and Environment

Section 85

The State shall follow the Policy Directive on Land, Natural Resource, and Environment as follows:

1. Establish rules on land use to cover the whole country, by considering the consistency of the natural environment, including land area, water surface, ways of life of local communities, and the efficient conservation on the natural resources; provide the standard measures for sustainable land use, with regard to the joint decision-making by the residents of the area affected by that land-use policy;
2. Fairly distribute the land possession, and process for farmers to have the ownership or rights over the lands for their agricultural production universally by the method of land reform or other means; provide water resources to farmers for their adequate and proper use for agricultural production.
3. Lay out a town and country planning; develop and implement such town and country planning effectively and efficiently for the interests of sustainable natural resource perseveration.
4. Set up the systematic water and natural resource management plan for public benefits, with regard to people participation to conserve, maintain, and balanced making use of the natural resources and biological diversity.
5. Promote, maintain, and protect the quality of environment on the principle of sustainable development; control and eliminate the pollution that is hazardous to health, sanitary, safety, and quality of life of the people, which people, local communities, and local administration organizations shall participate in directing the operation plan.

Part 9. Policy Directive on Sciences, Intellectual Property, and Energy

Section 86

The State shall observe the policy directive on sciences, intellectual property, and energy by:

1. Promoting scientific and technological development and innovation in various fields by means of specific legislations, appropriations to support education, research, analysis, and enabling educational and development institutes to apply the results of research and development, to effect technology transfer, and to develop human resources efficiently and appropriately;
2. Promoting inventions and innovations, conserving and developing local and Thai knowledge and intellectuals, and protecting intellectual property rights;
3. Promoting and supporting research and development of alternative energy from natural sources, eco-friendly, sustainable, and systematic.

Part 10. Basic Policy on Citizens’ Participation

Section 87

The State shall implement the citizen participation policy as follows:

1. To promote citizen participation in making policies and economic development plans at the local and national level throughout the country;
2. To promote and support citizen participation in making political decisions, making economic, social, and political development plans including in making public services.
3. To promote and support citizen participation in the scrutiny of the exercise of State powers at all levels in the form of occupational or professional bodies.
4. To promote and support citizen strengthen themselves politically and to legislate for establishment of the people’s political development funds to support community activities, as well as to support citizen who associate in any form of network to provide evaluation the performance of the local authorities.
5. To promote and educate the people on the democratic development and rule with the King as the Head of the State and encourage the people to exercise their rights to vote in elections in honest and fairly.

In case of participating of the citizen in this paragraph the quote of men and women has to be considered.