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Committee might mean that he exercises the executive power by and with the advice and consent of the People's Committee. Is that so? If it means so, I find it appropriate to employ the wording that harmoises with section 2, that is to say, the Monarch exercises the executive power by and with the advice and consent of the People's Committee."

The President of the Constitution Drafting Subcommittee said: "Our great desire is that the Monarch is the leader in the executive matters. But absolutism and constitutionalism are different. Under absolutism, any executive affair is his absolute power. But under constitutionalism, he exercises the executive power through a People's Committee, and what guarantees us about [the exercise of the power] through the People's Committee is seen in section 57, which contains '...any royal handwriting[1] or royal command which relates to the governmental affairs of the State must, Lord says, be countersigned by one of the Members of the People's Committee as the person responsible therefor'. This means [he] must [act] through a countersignature of a Member of the Committee, or else his handwriting or command cannot direct the affairs of the State. Although such a statement may be inserted in [the draft], I do not find it necessary."

Phraya Ratchawangsan said: "Adding such a statement would entail inconvenience, because the sovereign power comes forth from the House of Representatives, and in order to carry out any act, the People's Committee or the Monarch is already required to act upon


  1. Hatthalekha (Thai: หัตถเลขา) literally means "handwriting". It is a compound consisting of hattha ("hand") and lekha ("writing"). The Office of the Royal Society (2013) defines ratcha hatthalekha (Thai: ราชหัตถเลขา), literally translating "royal handwriting", as "letter (of a monarch)".