New law makes appeal more difficult for Yingluck

Yingluck Shinawatra will have to appear in court in person to file an appeal in the rice-pledging case after the law on the Supreme Court for politicians’ procedures takes effect on Friday.

This means she will have until 4.30pm on Thursday to have her lawyer file an appeal as allowed under the old law. Since the unabridged ruling has yet to be released, it is unlikely her lawyers will be able to file the appeal on her behalf by Thursday.

Under Section 61 of the new law, published in the Royal Gazette on Thursday, a defendant who wishes to appeal must do so in person.

With the effect of the new law, the former prime minister will also likely have to avoid being arrested for the rest of her life if she doesn’t want to be imprisoned because the statute of limitations on her case will never end.

Section 25 of the new law freezes the statute of limitations once the case is filed with the court. If the defendant flees during the prosecution or trial, the period shall not be considered part of the statute of limitations.

Meechai Ruchupan, chief constitution writer, said on Thursday even if Yingluck returned to serve her five-year jail term, she would be banned from politics for life under the 2017 constitution because she had been sentenced to imprisonment under the National Anti-Corruption Commission law.

As well, the new law allowed trial in absentia in cases where the defendants have fled and have yet to be caught.

Unlike the old law, a defendant may appeal a ruling within 30 days, but with a different panel of judges of the same court.

While the law does not have retrospective effect, it applies to new actions or proceedings on pending cases. Therefore, come Friday, the statutes of limitations on cases in which the defendants fled including that of Yingluck's brother Thaksin Shinawatra, will possibly be frozen.