Thailand has seen more than 10 coup d'etat since the end of the occupational monarchy in 1932. The Shinawatra family is seen as the center of the most dramatic moments in Thai politics in the past 20 years.
On August 29, Ms. Paetongtarn Shinawatra was the latest prime minister to receive the dismissal decision of the Thai Constitutional Court.
A powerful court
According to Napon Jatusripitak - a visiting researcher of the Thailand Research Program at Singapore's ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, the Constitutional Court tends to make judgments that are considered in line with the interests of the ruling establishment.
This comes from the identity and structure of the court. The Constitutional Court is considered by the former defenders to be "a frontline force in ethics to protect Thailand's pillar institutions from manifestations beyond the limits of democracy".
Napon added that most of the current judges and former judges have been appointed or extended to terms under conservative military-led governments.
4 Prime Ministers removed from office
All Thai prime ministers brought before the Constitutional Court - except for Mr. prayuth Chan-ocha, who took power after a coup - were removed from office.
Since 2008, four leaders have been removed from office, all of whom are linked to former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Paetongtarns father, and his political parties.
In 2008, Thaksin's ally Samak Sundaravej was dismissed after the court ruled him unconstitutional by hosting a TV cooking show and accepting small amounts of remuneration while still in office as prime minister.
A few months later, the court dismissed Mr. Samak's successor - Mr. Somchai Wongsawat and dissolved Mr. Somchai's party for election fraud.
In 2014, Thaksin's younger sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, was sacked on charges of abusing power. The court sentenced Yingluck to a violation when she transferred the head of the National Security Council to advise the prime minister in 2011. The verdict came shortly before the military coup that overthrew her government.
Last year, Mr. Srettha Thavisin was removed from office for violating ethical rules after the court found him violating the constitution when appointing a cabinet minister who had been sentenced to prison for defamation of court.
111 party leaders dissolved
Since its establishment in 1997, the Constitutional Court of Thailand has dissolved 111 political parties.
The court dissolved 3 party groups established or related to Mr. Thaksin. The court dissolved the Thai Rak Thai Party in 2007 and the People's Power Party in 2008, both for election fraud.
In 2019, the Thai Raksa Chart Party, involving Thaksin, was dissolved for "hostlike actions towards the founding monarchy" after the party nominated a princess as prime minister.
In 2020, the New Future Party, which had achieved outstanding results in the 2019 election, was dissolved due to accusations that the party had borrowed money from the party's leadership. The verdict led to a 10-year ban on political activities for the party leadership.
In 2024, the Tien Duoc Party, the successor to the New Future Party and the winning party in the 2023 election, was dissolved due to Thailand's military-civilian law reform campaign, which the court considered an attempt to overthrow the founding military regime.
