Forum Recap: ‘The Influence of Buddhism in Thailand’s Legal System’
On the 12th of February, 2018, the University of Bristol Research Forum for Legal Change had the upmost pleasure of hearing from Khemthong Tonsakulrungruang (Khem) who shared his pHD research, titled 'The Influence of Buddhism in Thailand's Legal System'. Through his research, Khem aimed to uncover the intricate relationship between Buddhism, democracy and the rule of law in the Thai legal and political spheres.
Khem's research encompasses two aspects; the world of Buddhism as a political force, and Buddhism as an influence on constitutional and human rights law. He termed his research as a 'missing link'; while much existing legal research explores the links between religion and law, Buddhism was relatively untouched. Simultaneously, with ongoing current world events, like the clash of religions in the Myanmmar Rohingya crisis, such research would be vital in fostering better legal systems in the future. Khem also takes his research on a personal level, never wishing to take for granted that he was from the majority religion.
Thailand's Legal System is the fusion of a Liberal Democratic modern force, and a tradditional Budddhist force. The dominance given to the latter so far has led to intolerance, tension, and in extreme cases, violence. The state treads a tightrope, adopting Liberal Democratic values to be compliant with the ECHR and International norms, while retaining Buddhist theology to keep its roots.
While Buddhism is a religion of peace, it is actually the second most violent religion in the world. While every Buddhist country seemingly recognises the freedom of religion, many fall short of full and equal religious recognition, especially where one religion is upheld as the dominant one. A further issue in the Thai Legal System is that the King is held to be the 'head of the temporal world, next in line to be a Buddha', but these traditional concerns have pivoted the Legal System exclusively around one person, changing the Buddhism-State relationship significantly.
Khen was also kind enough to share some advice on legal research and his own experiences with his thesis. One of the biggest research hurdles was the unstable Thai politics, where the Constitution is frequently renewed and changed. Finding a void to which his research could plug was also challenging, but with enough preliminary research and exposure, Khen got his research going.
The Research Forum for Legal Change sincerely thanks Khen for taking the time off to share his interesting research and wishes him the best. For further talks by postgraduate students and industry experts, feel free to connect with us via this blog and other social media, or approach us directly by email!
