The Council of State hosted an international workshop, Legal Foundations for Public Consultation in Government Decision­Making, in Bangkok on August 2 and 3, 2001 for senior Thai decision makers and international experts to discuss possible legal and institutional options for a new Thai law that will enable the public to comment on proposed government actions.

On the first day of the workshop legal experts and practitioners from Sri Lanka, Ukraine, and the United States presented international experience and best practices on public participation with a focus on environmental decision-making. For the second day, the Council of State led a discussion on specific proposed legal and institutional strategies. Participants included representatives from the Thai Senate, Parliament, government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, environmental groups, industry, and the media.

In preparation for this workshop the Council of State completed a preliminary investigation of international law and practice on public participation, including visiting the United States to meet with experts and practitioners from government, academia, environmental groups, and the private sector. As a result, the Council of State is considering various strategies for modifying the current scope, practices, and implementation of public participation requirements in Thailand.

This proceedings includes papers, presentations, and documents presented and distributed at the workshop, including the Regulations of the Prime Minister's Office on Listening to the Public by Means of Public Hearing, B.E. 2539 (1996). To supplement the proceedings, we have also included papers by James Klein, Paul Violette and Watcharee Limanon, Vanchai Vatanasapt, and Patcharee Siroros.

A recurring theme relative to government decision-making, from the international experts was the three pillars of democracy: the right to information, the right to be heard and participate, and the right to justice or to judicial review of decisions; these three pillars to be available to everyone in the society. The right to information is already addressed in the Public Information Act, B.E. 2540 (1997), while the right to review is, at least partially, addressed by the Administrative Procedure Act, B.E. 2539 (1996) and the Act on Liability for Wrongful Acts of Officials, B.E. 2539 (1996). As these integrally combine to form the basis of a participatory democracy we have also included the text of the aforementioned Acts herein.

An unexpected outcome from the workshop is the initiation of a section in the Council of State website (http://www.krisdika.go.th/) for public Notice and Comment (funded by the U.S.-Asia Environmental Partnership and the Executive Public Administration Foundation, Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat University). The website has been developed and the first law to be placed on the website for public Notice and Comment was the draft Monk Law in 2002. The draft Community Enterprise Law was also placed on the website for Notice and Comment. To the best of our knowledge this website is the first in the world to be established for the purpose of Notice and Comment by the principal law drafting organization of any national government.

Since its founding in 1999, the EPAF has emphasized its main objective to strengthen the knowledge base of public managers in public affairs. Its activities have included seminars and publications for its executive students and public servants. This proceeding is the second of three volumes published on public participation in Thailand. The first volume, published in Thai in 2002, titled Public Hearing and Listening to Public Consultation: From the US to Thailand, is part of the proceedings of another workshop on public hearings in Thailand sponsored by EPA, EPAF, and the Asia Foundation, held in Bangkok 20 January 2001. The third volume, also published in Thai in 2003, tilted Manual on Listening to Public Consultation, presents three groups of the techniques: to give information and facts to people; to

listen to the information and ideas from the people; and to exchange information with the people. It is hoped that these workshops and proceedings will contribute to strengthening the knowledge of our members and of Thai society.

The Foundation would like to express its appreciation to the US-AEP for their financial support for this project and the Kenan Foundation Asia for coordination assistance. We are also grateful to Paul Violette and Khun Watcharee Limanon of the US-AEP, who have been more than collaborative partners, but friends who are always sincerely helpful in giving advice, knowledge, and friendship which strengthens our understanding on the legal framework on U.S. public participation, which is useful for every Thai citizen.

Kenneth J. Haller, Ph.D.                          Patcharee Siroros, Ph.D.

Associate Professor                    Associate Professor

School of Chemistry                    Faculty of Political Science

Institute of Science                    Thammasat University

Suranaree Univ. of Technology                    EPAF Secretary-General