The Civil Court ruled on Wednesday the caretaker government has the authority to enforce the emergency decree, but issued a set of orders chiefly to prohibit dispersal of the anti-government protesters.

Anti-government protesters stop at the Royal Thai Police Sports Club on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road on their way back from a protest at the Office of the Permanent Secretary for Defence at Muang Thong Thani. (Photo by Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)

Seen as a legal setback to the caretaker government that is struggling to handle the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) protest, the court barred the government from enforcing some of the regulations it had earlier issued under the emergency decree against the anti-government protesters.

The emergency decree was declared for a period of 60 days, effective on Jan 22, in Bangkok, Nonthaburi and parts of Pathum Thani and Samut Prakan provinces, after the PDRC launched its "Bangkok shutdown" campaign on Jan 13. A set of regulations was issued afterwards in efforts to contain the protests.

PDRC member Thaworn Senneam challenged the enforcerment of the emergency decree. In his lawsuit, he named as defendants caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, caretaker Labour Minister Chalerm Yubamrung, who is also Centre for Maintaining Peace and Order (CMPO) director, and national police chief Pol Gen Adul Saengsingkaew, the CMPO's chief of operations.

In Wednesday's ruling, the court said a number of these regulations are in violation of demonstrators' rights and have no legal binding on the protesters. It cited an earlier ruling by the Constitution Court that the PDRC rally is peaceful and without weapons.

It ordered the caretaker government not to enforce them. The prohibited regulations included a ban on gatherings of five or more people and on the use of certain roads by demonstrators.

It also instructed the defendants not to order the use of force or weapons to break up a peaceful protest.

The court said its order was to protect the protesters' right to hold peaceful demonstrations, citing massive mobilisation of security forces into Bangkok to break up the protest.

The ruling came a day after CMPO's efforts to retake five rally sites turned violent, leaving five people dead and scores of others injured.

However, the court rejected Mr Thaworn's call for the revocation of the emergency decree, saying the government has the power to invoke it.

"When the plaintiff and the protesters hold peaceful rallies as ruled by the Constitution Court, the first defendant [the caretaker prime minister] may not use force or weapons to break up the protest," the court said. "When the fact appears that police are ordered into Bangkok to disperse the protest, the court sees it should make a ruling to protect a peaceful and unarmed rally."

Of the five judges, minority judges proposed that the regulations issued under the emergency decree should be revoked on the grounds they were used to target certain groups of people.

Sawat Charoenpol, a lawyer representing Mr Thaworn, said yesterday that based on the ruling, the emergency decree could not be enforced against the protesters.

He said the ruling also signified that the checks-and-balances mechanism was still working.

Mr Sawat said the ruling will be used to support a petition filed with the Civil Court when the CMPO ordered security forces to reclaim the protest sites on Tuesday.

He said the legal team will also seek revocation of arrest warrants issued against protest leaders for defying the emergency decree.

Jetsada Anujaree, one of Mr Thaworn's lawyers, said that the CMPO can still enforce the regulations that were not prohibited by the court. However, those were minor and unnecessary.

CMPO chief Chalerm on Wednesday thanked the court for not revoking the emergency decree.

He said the caretaker government and Ms Yingluck had no plan to disperse the demonstrators, with or without the court's order, as long as they were unarmed and peaceful.

He insisted the operations were launched because the protesters failed to hold peaceful rallies.

Mr Chalerm downplayed the suggestion that the court ruling would complicate the CMPO's efforts to handle the situation.

Instead the ruling would "facilitate" the CMPO's work, he said.

Mr Chalerm said the CMPO will continue with its attempts to reopen the government offices seized by protesters.