Worachet Pakeerut (Thai: วรเจตน์ ภาคีรัตน์, RTGS: Worachet Phakhirat, IPA: [wɔː.rá.t͡ɕèːt pʰaː.kʰiː.rát]; born 8 August 1969) is a Thai legal scholar specialising in constitutional and administrative law and a professor at the Faculty of Law, Thammasat University.
Education
editWorachet was born in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province, where his father was a railway station master. He completed high school at the prestigious Triam Udom Suksa School in Bangkok before studying law at Thammasat University from which he graduated with an honours degree. In 1988, he served as deputy president of his university's student council. The Thai Bar Association admitted him to the bar in 1992. He continued his studies at the University of Göttingen in Germany, completing the Magister Juris programme in 1994 with a thesis about the clausula rebus sic stantibus in administrative contract law.[1] He started teaching as a lecturer at the Faculty of Law, Thammasat University, but returned to Göttingen to complete his doctoral studies. Worachet was conferred a Doctor of Laws title in 1999. His thesis about the development of the legal doctrine of the "administrative law contract" (Die Entwicklung der Dogmatik des verwaltungsrechtlichen Vertrages)[2] was graded summa cum laude. Once again, he returned to Bangkok to be appointed associate professor at Thammasat University.[3]
Career
editWorachet published a number of textbooks about administrative and constitutional law.[3] Since September 2010, he has made public appearances as the most prominent spokesman of the Nitirat (นิติราษฏร์; literally "Law for the People") group—also known as "Enlightened Jurists"—an association of law lecturers who campaign for constitutional reform and a change of Thailand's lèse majesté law (article 112 of the Thai criminal code), proposing to reduce the maximum penalty of currently 15 years, limiting the right to press charges to the office of the king's private secretary (instead of everyone) and excluding constructive criticism from the offence's definition. In late-February 2012, Worachet was assaulted by two men on the parking lot of Thammasat University's downtown campus, who later declared they disagreed with his campaign for a change of article 112.[4][5] Worachet and his group have repeatedly criticised Thailand's Constitutional Court, accusing it of political interventions and exceeding its authority. They have even demanded the replacement of the tribunal completely.[6]
After the Thai coup d'état of 22 May 2014, Worachet was summoned to report to the military junta National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), but failed to do so within allotted time, as he was abroad. Upon his return to Thailand, he was taken into custody for defying the junta's orders, but released on bail on the same day.[7] In July 2014, the Thammasat University council promoted Worachet from associate professor to a full professorship.[3] His promotion to the professorship was endorsed by the Civil Service Commission on 27 October 2016[8] and received the royal assent from King Rama X on 5 April 2017, with retroactive effect as from 12 June 2013.[9] The proclamation on his promotion was countersigned by NCPO deputy leader Air Chief Marshal Prajin Jantong.[9]
Worachet is a member of the supervisory board of the German-Southeast Asian Center of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance (CPG).[10]
Works
edit- Prawattisat Khwamkhit Nitipratya (The History of Legal Philosophy)[11]
Academic rank
edit- 2013: Professor of public law, Thammasat University[9]
References
edit- ^ Worachet Pakeerut (1994). Die clausula rebus sic stantibus im verwaltungsrechtlichen Vertragsrecht (M.Jur. thesis). Göttingen.
- ^ Worachet Pakeerut (2000). Die Entwicklung der Dogmatik des verwaltungsrechtlichen Vertrages. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot.
- ^ a b c "เส้นทาง "วรเจตน์" ลูกชายนายสถานีรถไฟ สู่ "ศาสตราจารย์ด้านกฎหมาย" รั้วแม่โดม" [Worachet's path from son of a railway station master to Professor of Law at "Rua Mae Dome" (i.e., Thammasat University's nickname)]. Khao Sod. 19 August 2014.
- ^ "Nitirat academic Worachet assualted". The Nation. 29 February 2012.
- ^ Andrew Buncombe (18 March 2012). "Assault on professor underscores battle over Thailand's monarchy law". The Independent.
- ^ Manop Thip-Osod (16 July 2012). "Dissolve court, Nitirat demands". Bangkok Post.
- ^ "Nitirat academic Worachet Pakeerut released on bail after being charged for not reporting to junta". Prachatai English. 18 June 2014.
- ^ "Sip sāttrāčhān mư̄ mai kǭphǭ'ǭ henchǭp tængtang sip sāttrāčhān mai wǭračhēt phākhīrat sāttrāčhān dān kotmāimahāchon" 10 ศ. มือใหม่ ก.พ.อ. เห็นชอบตั้ง 10 ศาสตราจารย์ใหม่ วรเจตน์ ภาคีรัตน์ ศ. ด้านกฎหมายมหาชน [10 new professors: HCSC endorses appointment of 10 new professors, Worachet Pakeerut to be public law professor]. Matichon Online (in Thai). Bangkok: Matichon. 2016-10-27. Retrieved 2016-10-30.
- ^ a b c "Prōtklāo tængtang sāttrāčhān wǭračhēt phākhīrat nưng nai sip rāichư̄" โปรดเกล้าฯ แต่งตั้งศาสตราจารย์ วรเจตน์ ภาคีรัตน์ 1 ใน 10 รายชื่อ [Royal appointment of professors: Worachet Pakeerut is one of the ten in the list]. Isranews (in Thai). Bangkok: Isranews Agency. 2017-04-20. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
- ^ Persons, German-Southeast Asian Center of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance
- ^ Chaitrong, Wichit (2 April 2018). "New book on legal philosophy offers lessons for Thai ethics". The Nation. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
External links
edit- Worachet Pakeerut's page at the Faculty of Law, Thammasat University website (English)
- Website of the Nitirat group archived by the Wayback Machine (Thai)