Politics"Relevant agencies will consider whether some of the orders could be turned into bills," he said. "But some will remain in place to settle things during this abnormal [political] situation. "Wissanu's remarks came after he presided over a meeting where officials brainstormed on laws to be drafted ahead of the new constitution's promulgation next month.They also looked over more than 400 orders and announcements issued by the military's ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), discussing which should be dropped and which should be turned into permanent laws.But Wissanu said half of them should be defunct already as they had been enforced, for instance those that transferred or suspended officials.Article 44 granted sweeping power to Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha in his capacity as leader of the NCPO to issue a broad range of orders that did not require approval from any other party before being enforced.Critics have argued that the article is abusive to checks and balances of power and also a huge burden to Prayut himself.The meeting also resolved to prioritise the drafting of 59 organic laws, excluding those related to politics and the parliamentary system, which were stipulated by the Constitution Drafting Commission.They also considered 30 ||potential laws that could be issued without the need to wait for promulgation of the constitution.The Justice Ministry will be in charge of tracking all drafting processes, Wissanu said.The government is also rushing to consider draft laws in preparation for the 20-year national strategy and national reforms submitted by the National Reform Steering Assembly to be proposed to the attorney-general, he added.The two laws stipulate the official positions to be responsible for drafting the strategy and reform plans.Meanwhile, Wissanu also explained the reasons behind last week's order, enacted under Article 44, appointing Government Spokesman Lt-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd as acting director-general of the Public Relations Department.He said the government wanted to assign its spokesmen to oversee the department in order to align it better with the government's agendas. But normal regulations do not allow the prime minister to appoint a military officer to a civilian position, so Article 44 was needed.

Source: The Nation Bangkok October 07, 2016 17:15 UTC