The
process of reformation and westernization of Thailand's
legal system occurred primarily during the period between
1880 and 1930.(7) King Rama
V, also known as King Chulalongkorn, initiated the process
of reformation by enlisting the aid of foreign legal experts
from such countries as England, Belgium and Japan, to
work in conjunction with the Thai Ministry of Justice.
The reformation committee, thus formed, decided to rely
primarily on the Code System of Law (also known as the
Civil Law System), because of its simplicity, clarity,
and ease of organization. The committee decided to retain
certain aspects of the Common Law System as well.(8)
Current Thai law is thus a combination of the Civil Law
System, Common Law(9), and
Thai Traditional Law. This eclectic legal heritage has
affected the way the modern Thai legal system approaches
extraterritorial application of foreign laws within their
state, and against their nationals.
Modern
Thailand is a democratic constitutional monarchy that
has recently adopted a new Constitution(10)
that provides for a wide range of civil rights,
including the right to privacy and the right to be free
from unreasonable searches and seizures. Since Thailand
relies primarily on the Civil Law System, the decisions
of Thailand's Courts do not have precedential weight,
except for the decisions of their Supreme Court, which
are considered secondary authority.
The
United States law enforcement interest in Thailand is
justified primarily on the belief that Thailand serves
as the primary conduit for heroin from the Golden Triangle
to be transported to the United States.(11)
United States government law enforcement activities within
Thailand include the DEA cooperating closely with the
Narcotics Suppression Bureau, units of the Border Patrol
Police, and Provincial Police departments, providing intelligence,
operational support and expertise in many major narcotic
cases. The US government has provided commodity support
to law enforcement officials, and the US Department of
Defense through the US Customs provides training for the
Royal Thai Customs, and supports a regional center in
Phuket to monitor the movement of small vessels suspected
of smuggling illegal narcotics.(12)
US
Drug Enforcement Agents have also operated independently
within Thailand, conducting surveillance, and using undercover
informants and agents to collect evidence against drug
smugglers within Thailand, who are then, typically, arrested
after their arrival in the United States.(13)
These cases, however, usually involving non-Thai nationals,
present considerably less procedural complications, and
general controversy, than those cases which involve the
arrest of Thai Nationals on Thai soil, and their extradition
to the United States.
Operation
Tiger Trap: The DEA considers Operation
Tiger Trap to be their most ambitious venture to date
to disrupt heroin trafficking operations in Thailand.(14)
The defendants included Thai citizens, some of whom occupied
high level positions within the Thai government. The 13
principle defendants were considered by the DEA to be
high level operators in the heroin trafficking industry
in Thailand, and had been indicted in the US Federal Court
for the Eastern District of New York.(15)
These cases, because they involved a significant
infringement of Thai sovereignty, i.e., the arrest of
Thai nationals on Thai soil, and their extradition outside
their homeland stand trial in the United States created
considerable controversy among Thai government officials,
and the Thai public.
Chao
Fu-Sheng and Thanong Siripreechapong were among several
defendants, eight of whom were Thai nationals, arrested
throughout Thailand in November of 1994 at the request
of the DEA.(16) |
