1997 Constitution of Thailand

1997 Constitution Of Thailand

For legal and historical context, see the Constitutions of Thailand article

The 1997 Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand (promulgated 11 October 1997, abrogated 19 September 2006) was widely hailed as a landmark in Thai democratic constitutional reform. It replaced the 1991 Constitution, and was replaced by the 2006 Interim Constitution after a successful military coup.

The 1997 Constitution was the first constitution to be drafted by popularly-elected Constitutional Drafting Assembly, hence was popularly called the "People's Constitution". The 1997 Constitution created a bicameral legislature. For the first time in Thai history, both houses were directly elected. Many human rights are explicitly acknowledged, and measures were established to increase the stability of elected governments.