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Thai caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said Wednesday that the Constitutional Court had no ground to consider a case against her for a personnel transfer she ordered years ago.
The court has accepted for consideration a petition filed by a group of senators against Yingluck for allegedly violating the constitution by ordering the transfer of Thawil Pliensri from the post of secretary-general of the National Security Council (NSC) in 2011.
The petition was filed following the Supreme Administrative Court's verdict in March that the transfer of Thawil was unlawful and he should be reinstated as the NSC chief.
In accordance with the constitution, there are no grounds for the court to consider the case, Yingluck said in a statement posted on her Facebook page.
The move by the court "can be called a significant turning point in the Thai civil service" due to the fact that it is the first time that an independent agency has accepted to rule on a case regarding civil service personnel change, despite the Supreme Administrative Court's existing verdict, Yingluck said.
The move will run counter to what is stipulated in the constitution and "further contradict with the international principle of the maintenance of the rule of law,"said the statement.
Yingluck urged all relevant institutions, independent agencies in particular, to scrutinize the work of the executive branch based on the principle of checks and balances, and in accordance with the parameters stipulated in the constitution without infringing on the authority and duties of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
"Actions taken by independent agencies, particularly those that may be deemed as a double standard, should not be a source of further division and conflict in society," Yingluck said.
Yingluck is expected to defend herself before the Constitutional Court in late April.
In addition, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) is investigating into Yingluck's alleged dereliction of duty in the controversial rice subsidy scheme.
If indicted and found guilty, Yingluck could face removal from office and a five-year ban from politics.
In a separate incident, anti-government protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban announced on Wednesday that protesters would take a break from April 12 to 15 to celebrate the Songkran festival or the Thai New Year.
But leaders of both anti-government protest and the pro- government United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), also known as red shirts, have vowed to launch mass rallies after the festival, fueling speculations that the country's prolonged political unrest may culminate in late April.
