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DRAFT CONSTITUTION OF THAILAND - 3



(CONTINUED FROM YESTERDAY)


CHAPTER 4: CIVIC DUTIES

Article 66: The people are required to protect the nation,-all
religions, the monarch and the Constitutional Monarchy as
stipulated by this Constitution.

Article 67: The people are required to observe all laws.

Article 68: Individuals are required to vote in every election.

Those who fail to exercise this duty and do not notify
authorities of the reason will later be stripped of certain
constitutional rights to be specified by law.

Details of notifications of being unable to vote and of
conveniences provided the public for vote casting will be
specified by law.

Article 69: The people are required to protect the country; to be
conscripted for military service; to pay taxes; to assist the
state; to be educated, trained, protect and inherit national arts
and culture and local wisdom and to preserve natural resources
and the environment, as provided by law.

Article 70: Those who are civil servants or employees or
officials of government agencies or state enterprises or local
administrative organisations and other government officials are
required to enforce the law to protect the public interest, and
to serve and provide convenience to the public.

In their duty and services related to the people, those as
specified in the first paragraph are required to maintain
neutrality in politics.

When those as specified in the first paragraph neglect to carry
out their duty as specified in the first and second paragraphs,
the affected people have the right to ask those as specified in
the first paragraph or their superiors to explain their reasons
and to ask them to carry out the duties as specified in the first
and second paragraphs.


CHAPTER 5: THE STATE'S DUTIES

Article 71: The state must protect and uphold the Constitutional
Monarchy system, its independence and sovereignty.

Article 72: The state must provide troops to protect its
sovereignty, national security, national interests, the monarchic
institution and the Constitutional Monarchy system, and to
develop the country.

Article 73: The state must support and uphold Buddhism and other
religions, promote mutual understanding and harmony among all
religions' followers, as well as encourage them to use their
major principles to develop social morality and the quality of
life.

Article 74: The state must promote bilateral relationships with
foreign countries and treat them equally.

Article 75: The state must maintain law enforcement, provide
citizens with protection of their personal and human rights, and
provide an efficient judicial system to assure equal rights to
all members of the public. It also must handle public services
and other bureaucratic needs effectively.

The state must prepare adequate funding for the Election
Commission, the Parliament ombudsmen, the National Human Rights
Commission, Constitution Court, Justice Courts, Administrative
Court, Counter Corruption Commission and Budget Auditing
Commission, so they can operate independently.

Article 76: The state must promote public participation in
regulating its policies and decision making on political issues,
on formulating economic, social and political development plans
and in checking on the use of state power at all levels.

Article 77: The state must have a development plan to improve
politics and the ethical and moral qualities of political
appointees, bureaucrats, and employees of the state in order to
enhance their public service efficiency and prevent corruption.

Article 78: The state must promote decentralisation of power for
the sake of self-independency of nationwide local administrations
in providing public services. The state must also develop
infrastructure and public utility services for all local
communities without discrimination. Big provinces that are ready
shall form big local-governing bodies according to the will of
the people in each province.

Article 79: The state must promote and accept public
participation in planning and implementing environmental and
natural resource conservation and management, as well as
controlling and eradicating pollution that threatens people's
lives, welfare and quality of life.

Article 80: The state must protect and develop children and the
youth, promote equality between males and females and enhance
family values as well as strength of communities.
     
The state must implement and maintain an income circulation
policy and provide public welfare for senior citizens, the
underprivileged and the poor to assure them of independency and
better living standards.

Article 81: The state must provide free education and at the same
time promote the private sector's investment in education, in
order to educate society in general knowledge, ethics and
democratic political practices, and must support research work,
develop science and technology, and promote the country's
traditions and culture.

Article 82: The state must provide an effective, sufficient and
indiscriminate public health service.

Article 83: The state must ensure fair decentralisation of
income.

Article 84: The state must implement fair land acquisition
management, as well as fair use of land. The state must
indiscriminately provide water resources for farmers and must
maintain the high est interest towards farmers when it comes to
production and marketing. The state must also promote
associations of farmers who want to lay down agricultural plans
and protect their interests.

Article 85: The state must promote, support and protect the
cooperative system.

Article 86: The state must promote job opportunities for
working-age people, provide protection for labouring children and
woman, arrange a labour relations system, provide a social
security system and ensure a fair wage.

Article 87: The state must support a free trade system and
supervise fair competition among business operators. The state
must provide effective customer protection and prevent both
direct and indirect monopolisation. Also, it must reduce
unnecessary regulations concerning business operations and must
not compete with the private sector in any business practice
except those needed to ensure national security or common social
interests or to develop infrastructure.

Article 88: When announcing its policies to Parliament, the
Cabinet must clearly specify that it will determinedly attempt to
succeed in all of its duties stated in principle under this
chapter. It must also report to Parliament, at least once a year,
its work progress and the problems and hindrances it faces, which
will later be publicised.

Article 89: The state must have an economic and social advisory
council to advise the Cabinet on relevant problems.

Economic and social development plans adopted according to other
laws must be approved by the council.

(Final of a three-part series)

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