The Democrats and Pheu Thai look set to petition the Constitutional Court against a Section 44 order on political parties issued by the regime which they say violates the constitution.
Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday said the party's legal team was considering legal channels to petition the court against the order to update party memberships and registrations.
Currently, the organic bill on the Constitutional Court's trial procedures, which was passed by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) on Nov 23, has not yet come into effect, Mr Abhisit said.
The bill is awaiting royal endorsement.
Mr Abhisit said the team was considering if it will be possible to submit the petition to the Office of the Ombudsman which will forward it to the court later.
Wiratana Kalayasiri, head of the Democrat Party's legal team, said the legal team concluded the Section 44 order breaches the charter.
When the 2014 interim charter was in effect, the unlimited power granted to the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) chief under Section 44 was legitimate and constitutional, Mr Wiratana said.
Even the Constitutional Court had no power to scrutinise it, he added.
But after the new charter was promulgated, Section 44, which has been carried over, is now secondary to the new charter, he said.
The court also ruled that the new charter is the country's supreme law overriding the powers of executive, legislative and judiciary branches, he said.
The Section 44 order goes against the charter, he said.
It creates unnecessary burdens on the party's almost 3 million members who have to struggle to confirm their membership as stipulated by the time frame under the order, he added.
Chusak Sirinil, head of the Pheu Thai Party's legal team, said yesterday they are also preparing to seek a court ruling on the order.
The team believes the order violates the constitution as it demonstrates the arbitrary use of power to trample on the freedoms of political parties and their members and impose unnecessary burdens on party members, Mr Chusak said.
The petition should be submitted to the court next week, he said.
