Translation:Royal Institute Act, 2544 BE

by National Assembly of Thailand

Table of contents 

Act

Preamble

Preliminary provisions

Chapter

1. General provisions
2. Members
3. Operation

Transitory provisions

Statement of grounds

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Seal of the Royal Command

Royal Institute
Act,
2544 BE

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Bhumibol Adulyadej R
Given on the 31st day of October 2544 BE
Being the 56th year of the present reign

Phra Bat Somdet Phra Paramin Maha Bhumibol Adulyadej commands that it be announced as follows:

Whereas it is appropriate to improve the law on the Royal Institute;

Therefore, He permits, by and with the advice and consent of the National Assembly, the enactment of the following Act:

Section1.This Act is called the “Royal Institute Act, 2544 BE”.

Section2.This Act shall come into force from the day following the day of its publication in the Royal Gazette onwards.

Section3.Repealed shall be—

(1)the Royal Institute Act, 2485 Buddhist Era;

(2)the Royal Institute Act (No 2), 2487 Buddhist Era.

Section4.The Royal Institute established under the Royal Institute Act, 2485 Buddhist Era, shall become the Royal Institute under this Act.

Section5.The Prime Minister shall be in charge of the execution of this Act.

Chapter 1
General provisions

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Section6.The Royal Society shall be a public entity called otherwise and have the status of a department which is not subject to the Office of the Prime Minister or any ministry or subministry, according to the law on regulation of public affairs of the State.

Section7.The Royal Society shall have the following powers and duties:

(1)to investigate, research, and nourish all types of knowledge, and publish the works created for the benefit of the Country and the public;

(2)to contact with, exchange knowledge with, and coordinate on academic affairs with learned organisations and other academic institutions, both inside and outside the Country;

(3)to provide academic opinion, advice, and counsel to the Prime Minister or Cabinet;

(4)to provide academic services to public entities, state enterprises, constitutional independent agencies, public organisations, other state agencies, educational institutions, private agencies, and the public;

(5)to carry out works relating to the production of dictionaries, encyclopaedias, directories, and taxonomies, the coinage of academic terms in all branches, and the production of dictionaries of foreign academic terms in the Thai language, as well as other academic works;

(6)to designate criteria relating to the use of the Thai language, the conservation of the Thai language from ruinous changes, and the promotion of the Thai language, which is an identity of the Nation, so that it be more prominently recognised;

(7)to perform other acts designated by the law to be subject to the powers and duties of the Royal Institute.

Section8.The academic works of the Royal Institute shall be divided into the following academies:

(1)Academy of Moral and Political Sciences;

(2)Academy of Science;

(3)Academy of Arts.

Establishment of new academies, or dissolution, consolidation, or separation of academies, shall be effected by royal decrees.

Section9.Designation of fields of knowledge in each academy, and division of fields of knowledge into disciplines of knowledge, shall be effected by rules of the Council of the Royal Institute.

Section10.Rules of the Council of the Royal Institute shall be published in the Royal Gazette.

Chapter 2
Members

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Section11.Members of the Royal Institute are of three types, namely—

(1)associate fellows;

(2)fellows;

(3)honorary fellows.

Section12.An associate fellow is a person qualified according to section 13 and distinguished according to section 14, who applies for an associate fellowship of any academy according to the rules of the Council of the Royal Institute and is admitted as an associate fellow by a resolution of such academy.

Section13.An applicant for an associate fellowship must be qualified and not disqualified as follows:

(1)having the Thai nationality;

(2)having the age not lower than full thirty-five years;

(3)not being an incompetent or quasi-incompetent person;

(4)not having been imprisoned by a final judgment of imprisonment, except when it was for an offence committed negligently or petty offence;

(5)not having serious misconduct.

Section14.An applicant for an associate fellowship must be distinguished as an expert in any discipline of knowledge with an academic degree, certificate, or office not lower than that designated in the rules of the Council of the Royal Institute, and must have used such distinguishment to express ability in any of the following manners:

(1)having expressed the ability in performing work to the extent of gaining recognised reputation and credit in academic, artistic, or professional affairs;

(2)having innovated or improved an invention, process, or academic principle which the Royal Institute finds to be of recognised benefit;

(3)having composed or translated a literary work which the Royal Institute finds to be of considerable excellence, provided that the work has already been published.

Section15.Designation of the number of the associate fellows that can be in each academy, the criteria and procedure for the making of applications, and the procedure for admission of associate fellows, shall be in accordance with the rules of the Council of the Royal Institute.

Section16.A fellow is an associate fellow appointed as a fellow in any field of knowledge which is subject to the duties of the Royal Institute by His Gracious Majesty upon the submission made to Him by the Prime Minister in accordance with the advice of the Council of the Royal Institute.

Section17.Designation of the number of the fellows that can be in each academy, establishment of new fellowships, filling of vacant fellowships, as well as selection of associate fellows for new or vacant fellowships, shall be in accordance with the criteria and procedure designated in the rules of the Council of the Royal Institute.

Section18.An honorary fellow is a distinguished person with recognised reputation and credit in any field of knowledge which is subject to the duties of the Royal Institute and having cooperated in academic works which are beneficial to the activities of the Royal Institute, who is appointed as an honorary fellow by His Gracious Majesty upon the submission made to Him by the Prime Minister in accordance with the advice of the Council of the Royal Institute.

Section19.Members of the Royal Institute shall have the following rights and benefits:

(1)associate fellows

(a)receiving financial supports according to the regulations of the Royal Institute;

(b)wearing badges according to the regulations of the Council of the Royal Institute;

(c)attending, and expressing opinions or engaging in debates at, meetings of academies or meetings of the Council of the Royal Institute, but having no right to vote;

(2)fellows

(a)receiving financial supports according to the regulations of the Royal Institute;

(b)wearing badges according to the regulations of the Council of the Royal Institute;

(c)being honoured at royal ceremonies or ceremonies or social gatherings of the public sector as equal to public officials holding director general offices;

(3)honorary fellows

(a)wearing badges according to the regulations of the Council of the Royal Institute;

(b)being honoured at royal ceremonies or ceremonies or social gatherings of the public sector as equal to public officials holding director general offices;

(c)attending meetings of the Council of the Royal Institute as advisors.

Section20.A member of the Royal Institute retires from membership upon:

(1)death;

(2)resignation;

(3)lacking the qualification under section 13(1) or having the disqualification under section 13(3) or (4);

(4)being imprisoned by a final judgment of imprisonment, except when it is for an offence committed negligently or petty offence;

(5)being removed by a resolution passed at a meeting of the Council of the Royal Institute by the votes of not less than two thirds of the present fellows for any of the following cases:

(a)having been absent from meetings of the academy of which he is an associate fellow or fellow for over six consecutive months without appropriate reasons;

(b)having serious misconduct.

In the case that a fellow retires from fellowship, the President of the Royal Institute shall report the matter to the Prime Minister, who shall then submit it to His Majesty for His knowledge.

Section21.The incumbent fellows who are unable to perform duties as usual because of senility, disability, or infirmity, and the fellows who retire from fellowship because of being incompetent or quasi-incompetent persons, shall have the right to receive special financial supports according to the regulations of the Royal Institute, if the academies to which they belong resolve that they are in the condition which deserves assistance.

Chapter 3
Operation

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Section22.In the Royal Institute, there shall be a council called the "Council of the Royal Institute", consisting of—

(1)the President of the Royal Institute under section 23, paragraph 1, as the President of the Council;

(2)two of the Vice Presidents of the Royal Institute under section 23, paragraph 1, as Vice Presidents of the Council;

(3)all the fellows, as Members of the Council.

The Secretary General of the Royal Institute shall be the Secretary of the Council, and the Deputy Secretaries General of the Royal Institute, Assistant Secretaries of the Council.

Section23.The Council of the Royal Institute shall meet to select one of the fellows for appointment as President of the Royal Institute and two as Vice Presidents of the Royal Institute and nominate them to the Prime Minister, who shall then submit the nomination to His Gracious Majesty for appointment.

The criteria and procedure for selection of President and Vice Presidents of the Royal Institute shall be in accordance with the rules of the Council of the Royal Institute.

Section24.The President of the Royal Institute has the following powers and duties:

(1)to represent the Royal Institute in carrying out the works under to section 7(2);

(2)to supervise the performance of academic works by the Royal Institute so that they be in line with the policies, rules, regulations, and resolutions of the Council of the Royal Institute;

(3)to establish committees according to section 34.

Section25.The Vice Presidents of the Royal Institute have the following powers and duties:

(1)to perform duties on behalf of the President of the Royal Institute when authorised by the President of the Royal Institute;

(2)to act as the President of the Royal Institute in the case that there is no one holding the office of President of the Royal Institute or there is one but the one is unable to perform duties.

Section26.The President and Vice Presidents of the Royal Institute hold their offices for a term of two years and may be reselected, but none of them shall hold office for more than two consecutive terms.

In the case that the President of the Royal Institute or a Vice President of the Royal Institute retires from office by rotation, the President or Vice President of the Royal Institute who has retired shall remain in office until the newly selected President or Vice President of the Royal Institute, as the case may be, assumes duties.

Section27.Apart from retirement by rotation according to section 26, the President and Vice Presidents of the Royal Institute retire from office upon—

(1)resignation from the office of President or Vice President of the Royal Institute;

(2)retirement from membership of the Royal Institute according to section 20.

Section28.In the case that the President or Vice President of the Royal Institute retires from office prior to [expiry of] his term, a replacing officer shall be selected, except when the remaining term of the President or Vice President of the Royal Institute is less than ninety days, [in which case] the selection of the replacing officer may be dispensed with. The selected person shall be in office for the remaining term of his predecessor.

Section29.The Council of the Royal Institute has the following powers and duties:

(1)to lay down policies for the carrying out of academic works according to the powers and duties of the Royal Institute;

(2)to consider and approve the designation of the fields of knowledge of each academy and the division of the fields of knowledge into disciplines of knowledge;

(3)to consider and approve the establishment, consolidation, or separation of academies;

(4)to consider and approve the issuance of rules and regulations relating to the operation of the Council of the Royal Institute;

(5)to select the President and Vice Presidents of the Royal Institute, and to adopt resolutions approving the nomination of fellows and honorary fellows for further appointment;

(6)to consider and approve or endorse the matters relating to the activities of the Council of the Royal Institute as proposed by the President of the Royal Institute.

Section30.The Council of the Royal Institute shall meet in accordance with the rules of the Council of the Royal Institute.

The Council of the Royal Institute shall meet at least four times a year, in order to hold discussions, conduct consideration, and carry out activities by virtue of the powers and duties designated in this Act.

Section31.The fellows of each academy shall meet to select one amongst themselves as president of the academy and another one as secretary of the academy, and the President of the Royal Institute shall then nominate them to the Prime Minister for appointment through an announcement of the Royal Institute.

The criteria and procedure for selection of presidents and secretaries of academies shall be in accordance with the rules of the Council of the Royal Institute.

Section32.The presidents and secretaries of academies shall hold their offices for a term of two years and may be reselected, but none of them shall hold the offices for more than two consecutive terms.

The provisions of section 26, paragraph 2, section 27, and section 28 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the holding of and retirement from the offices of presidents and secretaries of academies.

Section33.Academies shall meet in accordance with the rules of the Council of the Royal Institute.

At meetings of each academy, the fellows and associate fellows have the duty to be present and have the duty to submit to the academy the academic matters they have investigated, subject to the regulations of the Council of the Royal Institute.

Section34.There shall be one or several Academic Committees of the Royal Institute for the various disciplines of knowledge, established by the President of the Royal Institute for carrying out business according to the powers and duties of the Royal Institute provided in section 7(5) and (6).

Apart from the Academic Committees under paragraph 1, the President of the Royal Institute has the power to establish other committees for the carrying out of any activity which is under the powers and duties of the Council of the Royal Institute.

The Members of the Academic Committees under paragraph 1 and the members of other committees under paragraph 2 shall be paid the remuneration designated by the Cabinet.

Section35.There shall be a Committee for Promoting the Activities of the Royal Institute, consisting of—

(1)the Vice President of the Royal Institute authorised by the President of the Royal Institute, as President of the Committee, and one another Vice President of the Royal Institute, as Vice President of the Committee;

(2)the presidents and secretaries of all academies, as Members of the Committee;

(3)the fellows other than the presidents or secretaries of academies, appointed by their academies as Members of the Committee, one per each academy;

(4)the Secretary General of the Royal Institute, as Member and Secretary of the Committee, and the Deputy Secretaries General of the Royal Institute, as Members and Assistant Secretaries of the Committee.

The Committee for Promoting the Activities of the Royal Institute has the duty to provide advice and recommendations to the Royal Institute, as well as to coordinate on and support the activities of the Royal Institute. The recommendations shall be made through the President of the Royal Institute.

Appointment and terms of the Members under (3), as well as the operation and meetings of the Committee under paragraph 1, shall be in accordance with the regulations of the Council of the Royal Institute.

Section36.There shall be a Secretary General of the Royal Institute to command the public officials of, and be responsible for the performance of public services by, the Royal Institute, and to perform duties according to the policies, rules, regulations, and resolutions of the Council of the Royal Institute. There may also be Deputy Secretaries General of the Royal Institute for the performance of public services.

The Secretary General and Deputy Secretaries General of the Royal Institute shall be ordinary civil officials.

The holder of the office of Secretary General of the Royal Institute shall be appointed from amongst the ordinary civil officials who have knowledge and expertise in any discipline of knowledge subject to the duties of the Royal Institute, and in public administration. This shall be processed in accordance with the law on regulation of civil officials.

Transitory provisions

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Section37.The associate fellows, fellows, and honorary fellows incumbent on the day of publication of this Act in the Royal Gazette shall become associate fellows, fellows, or honorary fellows under this Act, as the case may be.

Section38.The committees of the Royal Institute which are performing duties on the day of publication of this Act in the Royal Gazette shall continue to be the committees under this Act.

Section39.The persons holding the offices of President of the Royal Institute, Vice Presidents of the Royal Institute, presidents of academies, and secretaries of academies on the day of publication of this Act in the Royal Gazette, who have been selected in accordance with section 20 of the Royal Institute Act, 2485 Buddhist Era, shall continue to hold the offices until expiry of their terms.

The person holding the office of Secretary General of the Royal Institute on the day of publication of this Act in the Royal Gazette, who has been selected in accordance with section 20(2) of the Royal Institute Act, 2485 Buddhist Era, shall retire from the office of Secretary General of the Royal Institute and shall hold the office of Vice President of the Royal Institute under this Act until expiry of his former term as Secretary General of the Royal Institute.

The holding of the offices under paragraph 1 and paragraph 2 shall not constitute the terms of office under this Act.

Section40.As long as the rules of the Council of the Royal Institute designating the disciplines of knowledge in each academy according to section 9 are still not in place, the provisions of section 8, section 9, and section 10 of the Royal Institute Act, 2485 Buddhist Era, shall apply for the time being.

Section41.As long as the rules of meeting of the Council of the Royal Institute according to section 30, paragraph 1, and the rules of meeting of the academies according to section 33, paragraph 3, are still not in place, the provisions of section 24 of the Royal Institute Act, 2485 Buddhist Era, shall apply for the time being.

Section42.All the regulations, regulatory instruments, and announcements issued under the Royal Institute Act, 2485 Buddhist Era, and the Royal Institute Act (No 2), 2487 Buddhist Era, which are in force on the day of publication of this Act in the Royal Gazette, shall remain in force in so far as they are not contrary or repugnant to the provisions of this Act and until the rules or regulations issued under this Act come into force.

Countersignature
Police Lieutenant Colonel Thaksin Shinawatra
Prime Minister

Note: The reasons for promulgation of this Act are as follows: Because the Royal Institute Act, 2485 Buddhist Era, has long been in application and the works which fall under the duties of the Royal Institute have greatly expanded, whether in regard to the conduct of investigation and research or in connection with the provision of academic services to the Government, state agencies, and the public, especially the work of updating and revising the Royal Institute Dictionary to make it more complete and modern, capable of being used as the standard for writing, reading, and speaking the Thai language in a uniformly correct manner, the work of producing encyclopaedias, directories, and taxonomies in various academic fields, the work of producing dictionaries and coining academic terms in important fields, the work of coining Thai academic terms from foreign languages for the public to use in studying and investigating into foreign-language textbooks and for the promotion of the standard use of Thai academic terms instead of foreign terms, as well as the role as an academic centre for conservation of the Thai language with a view to strengthening the identities of the Thai language; it is appropriate to improve the structure of the organisation and its systems for management of academic and administrative works, and to expand its powers and duties for the creation of a wider range of academic works in line with its current roles, missions, duties, and circumstances. It is therefore necessary to enact this Act.