Kongsatja Suwanapech
Lecturer at the Centre for Legal Studies, History and Sociology
Faculty of Law, Thammasat University
19 November this year (2020), falling on the third Thursday of last month, is an important date which the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has designated “World Philosophy Day”. Moreover, 163 years ago on this day, in CE 1857 (BE 2400), Phraya Montri Suriyawong (Chum Bunnag) led a diplomatic mission to visit Queen Victoria at ‘The Garter Throne Room’ in Windsor Castle, after Sir John Bowring had concluded the Treaty of Friendship and Commerce between Siam and Great Britain, commonly known as the “Bowring Treaty,” in 1855 (BE 2398).
This historic treaty may be considered the “turning point for Siam”, making Siam compete officially in the global market in the colonial era. To preserve its independence the Siamese state had to adapt itself to face the world, leading to the process of “Westernisation” and “Modernisation”, gradually transforming into the Thai society of today. Whether clothing, food, culture, ideas, literature, education and even the legal system, everything has a “Western” flavour.
However, we are not completely like “Westerners” all these matters. In relation to the modern legal system, Siam/Thailand borrowed a system of laws and fundamental legal principles from Western countries, but after they had been transplanted into Thailand context, despite having a similar appearance to the source, many aspects are both similar and different, including the process of justice, the constitution, and human rights; like Western food cooked by a Hainanese chef, it will have flavour that both is, and is not, Western.
Although the processes of Westernisation and Globalisation differ in context, they have a commonality, which is to unite different worlds and societies under standard concepts and the same ideals. However, in reality, as much as you try to unify the world, different societies will adopt and synthesise the common points and then develop into their own different systems. This is the same for the modern Thai legal system.
During a time when Thai society is facing conflict and justice is being challenged, many people are asking the question, “how did we get to this point?”. This often comes down to the question of whether our “modern legal system” connects with “modern legal thinking which we have not yet adopted” or “our way of legal thinking”, and this is a question which should produce unending dialogue. And there may be a variety of answers, including turning back again to foreign models, the need to understand the relationship between law and society, problems of enforcement, etc, or the answer may be that it is just the result of a system that has a “very Thai” style.
Contemplation and critical thinking using methods of philosophy, history and other knowledge may provide a deeper understanding of the problem. There may be no best answer, because different disciplines give different answers as a result of different methodologies used by the different fields of study. Might it be that presenting, exchanging ideas and constructive critical analysis in the process of finding an answer is as valuable as the answer itself?
World Philosophy Day was created to commemorate the development of, and values in, human thought in each society which have been passed down to us today. Our thoughts and knowledge today only exist and can grow thanks to our predecessors who, with wisdom and courage, offered ideas that people of their era did not accept, and passed on their wisdom as the foundation for the prosperity of human society, universal values unlimited by time, place, culture, for people to consider, develop, correct, and join together in improving. Younger generations can see further because they stand on the shoulders of giants.
At the Centre for Legal Studies, History and Sociology, we invite everyone to study and explore the law using the methodology of other fields of knowledge, to view all aspects of the “law” using the lenses of various branches of science. The answers (the various answers) do not only address the question of “how did we get here?”, but also of “how do we get past this point?”. We must pass beyond the false dichotomy of a Western versus Thai model, and hand down our thoughts for later generations to consider, to bring change and build a society that is safe, free, just, peaceful and sustainable.
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