On May 26, the Office of the Administrative Court clarified the legal process in the case filed by Ms. Yingluck Shinawatra and Mr. Anusorn Amornchat against the Prime Minister and eight others.
Ms. Yingluck's case centers on a 2016 order (No. 1351/2559) from the Ministry of Finance demanding compensation of 35,717,273,028.23 baht. This was an administrative order requiring payment, enforceable without court proceedings through asset seizure or auction under relevant laws—Section 12 of the Liability for Wrongful Acts of Officials Act (1996) and Sections 57 and 63/7 of the Administrative Procedure Act.
Ms. Yingluck challenged the order in the Administrative Court, requesting its annulment. This type of dispute falls under the court's jurisdiction to revoke unlawful administrative orders but not to rule on compensation against the defendants.
The Supreme Administrative Court later found the order partially unlawful and revoked only the portion requiring Ms. Yingluck to pay over 10,028,861,880.83 baht. The court did not rule that Ms. Yingluck must compensate the nine defendants.
This judgment was reviewed on September 12, 2023, by a five-judge panel. Afterward, the President of the Supreme Administrative Court referred the case to the court’s full bench, which includes all currently active judges, excluding retired ones.
The final ruling reflected the majority opinion of the full bench. Two retired judges could not sign the ruling, and the court recorded their absence in the official judgment. This process followed Sections 68 and 69 (paragraph 2) of the 1999 Act on Establishment of Administrative Courts and Administrative Court Procedure. Judges could also file dissenting opinions under Section 67, which have been recorded in the final ruling.