Transcript of the Meeting of the House of Representatives
Meeting 36/2475
Friday, 25 November 2475 BE (Afternoon)
At the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall
Meeting started at 14:10 hours
Attended by 56 Members
The President of the House said: "Now, we are going to consider the draft constitution in continuation of the morning session, and it should be considered that this meeting has transformed into a plenary session like the morning session."
Section 9 The President of the Constitution Drafting Subcommittee said: "In this section 9, [the contents] read 'Succession to the royal throne shall, Lord says,[1] be in accordance with the modes[2] under[3] the Palace Law on Succession, 2467 BE, together with the approval of the House of Representatives.' This provision does not need any explanation because it is already clear from the letters that royal succession is to be as designated in the Palace Law. The only important point is that royal succession shall merely be governed by any specific rule together with the approval of the House of Representatives. This seems enough in principle."
- ↑ This constitution retained the traditional fashion of writing legal provisions with such a phrase as than wa (Thai: ท่านว่า; "Lord says"), than hai (Thai: ท่านให้; "Lord ordains"), etc, which was based on the old belief that laws were created by deities, not humans. The legend about this is found in the preamble of Phra Thammasat (Thai: พระธรรมศาสตร์), a law enacted in the reign of Rama I, which says a hermit by the name of Manosan (Thai: มโนสาร) flied to the Walls of the Universe and found laws inscribed there by gods, he then committed them to his memory and flied back to the Earth before writing them as legal texts for use by humans (Office of the Royal Society, 2015, pp. 8–7).
- ↑ The term nai (Thai: นัย), here translated as "mode(s)", is defined by the Office of the Royal Society (2013) as (1) significance, importance; (2) significance, meaning, sense; (3) manner, mode, way. It can also mean "hidden sense", as in the expression khwammai doi nai (Thai: ความหมายโดยนัย), which means "meanings according to hidden senses", that is, "indirect meanings". Etymologically, it is from Pali naya ("method, mode, plan, etc"). The actual or intended meaning of this vague term here is not known, but "mode" seems to be the most likely one.
- ↑ Literally, "of".
