The Fine Arts Department and the Supreme Court are at odds over the fate of a building within the Supreme Court’s compound.
Though the Court has agreed to spare the Office of the Judiciary in forthcoming renovations to its physical plant, the Fine Arts Department is insisting that a second building within Court’s compound deserves protection as well.
According to the Fine Arts Department, the building in question falls under the auspices of the 1961 Historic Buildings and Historic Artifacts Act, which stipulates that structures of “historic and architectural value” cannot be demolished.
However, the Supreme Court is insisting that it has every right to swing the wrecking ball, pointing out that the Fine Arts Department already signed off on the demolition plan, which leaves it wide open to invocations of the time-honored judicial precedent of “no take-backs.”
As reported in the Nation, the interested parties have threatened a whole flurry of legal actions.
The Fine Arts Department is insisting that if the Supreme Court does demolish the buildings, those who approved the action could be subject to seven years in jail and a THB700,000 fine.
The Supreme Court has offered to preserve one of the historic structures while moving to tear down another, citing its need for new facilities as non-negotiable.
On top of that, the contractor charged with construction of the Supreme Court’s new chambers has threatened to sue the Court if construction is delayed any further.
Notably absent from the debate have been the buildings themselves, which so far have declined all opportunities to comment.
