Page 17 - รายงานการศึกษาวิจัย เรื่อง ความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างสิทธิมนุษยชนและสิ่งแวดล้อมเพื่อการคุ้มครองสิทธิมนุษยชนที่เกี่ยวกับสิ่งแวดล้อมอย่างยั่งยืน

ส�ำนักงำนคณะกรรมกำรสิทธิมนุษยชนแห่งชำติ

Roles of Human Rights Institutions and Courts

International human rights institutions at regional level such as regional human rights courts
or regional human rights commissions have substantial influence on the development of international
law relating to human rights. It is found that in many cases new types of human rights are recognized

thank to the practices of States at the regional level before being recognized at the international level
subsequently. However, it needs to be very cautious in comparing the roles of the regional institutions
with the Thai ones because of different authorities, context and management structure.

Thailand does not set up the human rights court. Therefore, filing the complaint on human
rights violation must go to the courts that have jurisdictions on the case. The courts having cases on

human rights violation in Thailand are varied depending on the legislations that authorize the cause of
action. With no special court on human rights in Thailand, the human rights commission should have
broader scope of authorities which means that the commission should have a quasi-judicial power

and act as the human rights institution with power in make a decision/conflicts resolution on cases
relating to human rights violation.

At present, the National Human Rights Commissions of Thailand has power in investigating
and proposing measures to solve actions on violation of human rights under one condition which
is the case must not be in the judicial process of the courts. In receiving the complaints on human

rights violation, it is found from examples during the year 2013 – 2014 that most popular matters of
the complaints are on the community rights violation, followed by violations on the right of land and
the right of property subsequently. Other complaints include the violations on the right to housing,

freedom of occupation, right to access to justice and right to information.
Constitutional Court has powers and duties in adjudicating and ruling constitutional cases
concerning constitutionality of any law that is contrary or inconsistent with the Constitution. If any

law have contents that violates human rights recognized by the Constitution, it is the power of the
Constitutional Court to consider the case. At present, there are only two cases on this matter: the

Constitutional Court Decision No. 3/2552 that Article 46 of the National Environmental Quality Act
of 1992 is not contrary to Article 67 of the 2007 Constitution; and the Constitutional Court Decision
No. 33/2554 that Article 6 of the National Park Act of 1996 does not violate human rights and has no

problem about the contrariness to the Constitution.
The Administrative Court has powers and duties in adjudicating and ruling administrative

cases concerning the lawfulness of rules and administrative orders including unlawful acts of adminis-
trative agency or State official. If any rules and administrative orders violate human rights recognized
by the Constitution, it is the power of the Administrative Court. There are five cases on environmental

violation: 1) Decision No. Or 415/2550 on asking for compensation from State organization due to

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