Military courts also tend to have far higher conviction rates than their civilian counterparts, and hand down verdicts that are harder to appeal. And easing their grip will also help relax the pressure being brought to bear on the government from both inside and outside the country.In fact, the NCPO chief could go further in this direction by transferring all the ongoing civilian cases in military courts to the civilian justice system. Since the last coup, more than 1,500 civilian cases have been filed with military courts, and more than 500 are still ongoing, according to Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam. Prayut deserves praise for calling an end to the prosecution of civilians in military courts. All we need now is a few more steps to complete a move back to judicial normalcy that would benefit the country as a whole.attayuth@nationgroup.com

Source: The Nation Bangkok September 14, 2016 18:00 UTC