Thai court to rule on election winner's bid to change royal insults law

Pita Limjaroenrat (centre) leaving the Constitutional Court in Bangkok, on Jan 24, 2024 after the court ruled that he can retain his seat in Parliament. - AP

BANGKOK: A Thai court will on Wednesday (Jan 31) rule on whether an opposition party plan to amend a law against insulting the monarchy is unconstitutional, in what could set a precedent for future moves to change one of the world's strictest lese majeste laws.

Move Forward, the biggest party in parliament, won last year's election on a progressive platform that included a once unthinkable proposal to amend the lese majeste law, which carries penalties of up to 15 years in jail for each perceived insult of Thailand's powerful crown.