BANGKOK, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday that a government 400-billion-baht (around 11.95 billion U.S. dollars) emergency decree to borrow funds to address the energy crisis and infrastructure transition is constitutional.
In a court statement, the nine-member panel unanimously ruled the decree's primary clause valid, allowing the Ministry of Finance to secure loans for immediate financial relief from volatile energy prices.
The court also voted 7-2 to uphold the provision of the decree, which covers an allocation of state funds aimed at accelerating the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
The verdict followed a petition signed by 133 members of the House of Representatives, questioning whether the executive order bypassed normal legislative processes in violation of the constitution, which restricts emergency decrees to urgent national security or economic emergencies.
Under the plan approved by the cabinet in May, 200 billion baht would be used to alleviate cost-of-living pressures arising from the Middle East conflict, while the remainder would support the Southeast Asian country's transition toward sustainable energy. ■
