CHAPTER V. DUTIES OF THE STATE
Section 51
As regards any act provided by the Constitution to be the duty of the State under this Chapter, if the act is for the direct benefit of the people, the people and the community shall have the right to follow up and urge the State to perform such act, as well as to take legal proceedings against a relevant State agency to have it provide the people or community such benefit in accordance with the rules and procedures provided by law.
Section 52
The State shall protect and uphold the institution of kingship, independence, sovereignty, integrity of the territories and the areas over which Thailand has the sovereignty rights, honour and interests of the Nation, security of the State, and public order. For these purposes, the State shall provide efficient military, diplomatic, and intelligence services.
Armed forces shall also be deployed for the purpose of developing the country.
Section 53
The State shall ensure that the law is strictly observed and enforced.
Section 54
The State shall ensure that every child receives quality education for twelve years from pre-school to the completion of compulsory education free of charge.
The State shall ensure that young children receive care and development prior to education under paragraph one to develop their physical body, mind, discipline, emotion, society and intelligence in accordance with their age, by also promoting and supporting local administrative organisations and the private sector to participate in such undertaking.
The State shall undertake to provide the people education as needed in various systems including promoting a life-long learning, and to enable the cooperation among the State, local administrative organisations and private sector in providing every level of education which the State has the duty to carry out, supervise, promote and support the provision of education to be of quality and to meet international standards as provided by law on national education which shall, at least, contain provisions relating to national education plan, and implementation and inspection to ensure the compliance with the national education plan.
All education shall aim to develop learners to be good, disciplined, proud in the Nation, skillful in their own aptitudes and responsible for family, community, society and the country.
In undertaking to provide young children to receive care and development under paragraph two or to provide people the education under paragraph three, the State shall undertake to provide persons with insufficient means with financial support for educational expenses in accordance with their aptitudes.
A fund shall be established for the purpose of assisting persons with insufficient means, reducing the educational disparity and promoting and improving the quality and efficiency of teachers for which the State shall allocate budget to such fund or use taxation measures or mechanisms, including providing a tax reduction to persons who donate properties into the fund, as provided by the law; such law shall, at least, prescribe that the management of the fund shall be independent and the fund shall be disbursed to implement such purpose.
Section 55
The State shall ensure that the people receive efficient public health services universally, ensure that the public has the basic knowledge in relation to health promotion and disease prevention, and shall promote and support the development of wisdom on Thai traditional medicine to maximise its benefits.
The public health services under paragraph one shall cover health promotion, control and prevention of diseases, medical treatment and rehabilitation.
The State shall continuously improve the standard and quality of public health services.
Section 56
The State shall undertake or ensure that the basic utility services which are essential for the subsistence of the people be provided in a comprehensive manner in accordance with sustainable development.
In respect of the basic structure or network of basic public utility services of the State which are essential for the people’s subsistence or for security of the State, the State shall not conduct any act which renders the ownership to be under the private sector or the ownership of the State to be less than fifty one percent.
In undertaking or ensuring the provision of the public utility services under paragraph one or paragraph two, the State shall ensure that the service fee shall not be collected to the extent that it imposes an unreasonable burden on the people.
Where the State allows the private sector to operate the business of public utility services in any manner, the State shall receive fair returns by taking into account the State investment, benefits which the State and private sector will gain, including service fee which will be collected from the people.
Section 57
The State shall:
- conserve, revive and promote local wisdom, arts, culture, traditions and good customs at both local and national levels, and provide a public area for the relevant activities including promoting and supporting the people, community and a local administrative organisation to exercise the rights and to participate in the undertaking;
- conserve, protect, maintain, restore, manage and use or arrange for utilisation of natural resources, environment and biodiversity in a balanced and sustainable manner, provided that the relevant local people and local community shall be allowed to participate in and obtain the benefit from such undertaking as provided by law.
Section 58
In regard to any undertaking by the State or that the State will permit any person to carry out, if such undertaking may severely affect the natural resources, environmental quality, health, sanitation, quality of life or any other essential interests of the people or community or environment, the State shall undertake to study and assess the impact on environmental quality and health of the people or community and shall arrange a public hearing of relevant stakeholders, people and communities in advance in order to take them into consideration for the implementation or granting of permission as provided by the law.
A person and community shall have the rights to receive information, explanation and reasons from a State agency prior to the implementation or granting of permission under paragraph one.
In the implementation or granting of permission under paragraph one, the State shall take precautions to minimise the impact on people, community, environment, and biodiversity and shall undertake to remedy the grievance or damage for the affected people or community in a fair manner without delay.
Section 59
The State shall disclose any public data or information in the possession of a State agency, which is not related to the security of the State or government confidentiality as provided by law, and shall ensure that the public can conveniently access such data or information.
Section 60
The State shall maintain the transmission frequencies and the right to access a satellite orbit, which are national treasuries, in order to utilize them for the benefit of the country and the people.
The arrangement for utilisation of the transmission frequencies under paragraph one, regardless of whether it is for radio broadcasting, television broadcasting and telecommunications or for any other purposes, shall be for the greatest benefit of the people, security of the State, public interest as well as the participation of the people in the utilisation of transmission frequency, as provided by law.
The State shall establish a State organisation which is independent in performing duties to be responsible and supervise the undertakings in relation to transmission frequencies under paragraph two. In this regard, such organisation shall ensure that there are measures to prevent against unfair consumer exploitation or imposition of unnecessary burden on consumers, to prevent the interference of transmission frequencies, as well as to prevent an act which results in obstructing the liberty of the people to know or preventing the people from knowing true and accurate data or information, and to prevent any person or any group of person from utilising the transmission frequencies without considering the rights of general public. This shall include the prescription of a minimum proportion to be undertaken, for public interest, by a person utilising the transmission frequencies as provided by law.
Section 61
The State shall provide efficient measures or mechanisms to protect and safeguard the rights of consumers in various aspects, which include, inter alia, knowledge of true information, safety, fair conclusion of contracts, or any other aspects which benefit consumers.
Section 62
The State shall strictly maintain its financial and fiscal discipline in order to ensure that the financial and fiscal status of the State is sustainably stable and secure in accordance with the law on financial and fiscal discipline of the State and shall establish a taxation system to ensure fairness in the society.
The law on financial and fiscal discipline of the State shall, at least, contain, provisions relating to the framework of undertaking of public finance and budget of the State, formulation of fiscal discipline in respect of both budgetary and extra-budgetary income and expenditures, management of State properties and treasury reserves and public debt management.
Section 63
The State shall promote, support and provide knowledge to the people on the dangers resulting from dishonest acts and wrongful conducts in both public and private sectors, and shall provide efficient measures and mechanisms to rigorously prevent and eliminate such dishonest acts and wrongful conducts, including a mechanism to promote collective participation of the people in a campaign to provide knowledge, to counter corruption or to provide leads under the protection of the State as provided by law.
