Kittisak Prokati

Kittisak Prokati (Thai: กิตติศักดิ์ ปรกติ; rtgs: Kittisak Prokkati; born 7 December 1956) is a Thai legal scholar. He is assistant professor of comparative law, civil law and philosophy of law at the Faculty of Law, Thammasat University.

Education and academic career

Kittisak graduated from the Faculty of Law, Thammasat University, and received a diploma in comparative law from the University of Strasbourg in France, as well as a master's degree (Magister Juris) and a research doctorate in law (Dr. iur.) from the University of Bonn, Germany.[1][2]

He teaches comparative law, civil law and philosophy of law at the Faculty of Law, Thammasat University. He was a deputy dean of law at Thammasat University and is the President of the Thammasat University Faculty Senate and a Thammasat University Councillor.[3] He is also a chair professor in international legal studies at the Graduate School of Law, Kyushu University.[4]

Kittisak has initiated the establishment of a Centre for German Legal Studies and an expert lectureship of the German Academic Exchange Service at the Faculty of Law, Thammasat University. In 2009 he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesverdienstkreuz) for his efforts to further exchange and co-operation between the legal systems of Thailand and Germany.[5][6] Alongside his Thammasat Law Faculty colleague Worachet Pakeerut, he serves in the supervisory board of the German-Southeast Asian Center of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance (CPG).[7]

He has published works about LGBT, the reformation of Thai law under European influence (2003), personality rights (2003), and background and fundamental legal methodology of civil law and common law (2004),[3][4] as well as a textbook on general principles of natural persons and legal persons (2007).

Political views and activism

Kittisak supports section 112 of the Thai Criminal Code (known as lèse majesté law) and the categorisation of the section as an offence against national security. However, he agreed that the current fifteen year imprisonment is immoderate and the current enforcement of section 112 is problematical.[8]

During the 2013–14 Thai political crisis, Kittisak became known as a supporter of the oppositional "People's Democratic Reform Committee" (PDRC). Kittisak delivered several speeches against the Pheu Thai Party on the PDRC stage. He also supports many ideas and operations of the PDRC, including the creation of an unelected people's council to oversee political reform and the seizure of public offices, which he described as a peaceful revolution.[9][10][11]

His assets and bank accounts have been frozen by the Department of Special Investigation since 20 December 2013 on grounds of financing the PDRC.[12] On 14 May 2014, the Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him on the charge of insurrection.[13] He also faces seven other serious charges. He surrendered himself to the court on 19 May 2014 and successfully requested a provisional release, using his assistant professor position as security for bail. A public prosecutor is scheduled to institute a case against him on 27 June 2014.[14]

Accusations of plagiarism

On 8 May 2014, Wuttipong Pongsuwan, Minister of Defence Advisor, accused Kittisak of plagiarising the article Uniform Sales Law – The Experience with Uniform Sales Laws in the Federal Republic of Germany by Peter Schlechtriem and presenting it as his own article under the title of The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods of 1980. The matter went viral on the internet. On 9 May 2014, Kittisak admitted that he did produce the latter work and he failed to mention Schlechtriem as the original producer. However, he said the work he produced was merely the lecture notes, not generally published.[15]

On 10 May 2014, Associate Professor Prasit Piwawattanapanit from the Faculty of Law, Thammasat University, who is also a member of the salary promotion board of the faculty, stated that Kittisak submitted the work to the board for consideration in salary promotion and also introduced it to an international conference. When the board suspected the originality of the work, Kittisak explained that the name of Schlechtriem was omitted because of his haste in writing the article, technical errors and the mistake of his teaching assistant. Prasit, however, found the explanation unreasonable, as it appeared that many parts of the original article were modified in the manner that a person in haste or a mere teaching assistant would be unable to do. In addition, Kittisak explained that he used this work because he wanted to publish the work of Schlechtriem who was his teacher when he studied in Germany. But Prasit questioned this explanation, as Kittisak replaced the name of Schlechtriem with his own name. However, the faculty did not take any action in this respect.[16]

English-language works

References

  1. ↑ "ข้อมูลนักวิชาการ (กิตติศักดิ์ ปรกติ, ผศ.ดร.)" [Scholar's info (Kittisak Prokati, Assistant Professor Doctor)] (in Thai). Topscholar. n.d. Retrieved 2014-05-11.
  2. ↑ "เกี่ยวกับคณะ: คณาจารย์" [About TU Law: Teaching Faculty] (in Thai). Faculty of Law, Thammasat University. n.d. Retrieved 2014-05-11.
  3. 1 2 "ประวัติกรรมการสภามหาวิทยาลัย (กิตติศักดิ์ ปรกติ)" [University councillor's background (Kittsak Prokati)] (in Thai). Thammasat University. n.d. Retrieved 2014-05-11.
  4. 1 2 "กิตติศักดิ์ ปรกติ: ตำนานรักร่วมเพศ (ในเชิงกฎหมายอย่างกว้าง ๆ)" (in Thai). OSK Network. n.d. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
  5. ↑ "Bundesverdienstkreuz für Honorarkonsuln und Rechtsprofessor", Newsletter, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Bangkok, p. 2, November 2009
  6. ↑ Bundesverdienstkreuz für Honorarkonsuln und Rechtsprofessor, Thaizeit.de
  7. ↑ Persons, German-Southeast Asian Center of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance
  8. ↑ "กิตติศักดิ์ ปรกติ: ต้องยกย่องสถาบันให้ดำรงอยู่อย่างมีเหตุผลสอดคล้องกับหลัก ปชต." [Kittisak Prokati: the monarchy must be upheld reasonably and in line with democratic principles] (in Thai). Isra News. 2012-02-06. Retrieved 2014-05-11.
  9. ↑ "กิตติศักดิ์ย้ำสภาประชาชนมีได้ตามรัฐธรรมนูญ รัฐละเมิดประชาชนมีสิทธิปกป้อง" [Kittisak insists the possibility of creating a people's council and the people's right to protect themselves from the state-committed violation] (in Thai). Manager. 2013-11-26. Retrieved 2014-05-11.
  10. ↑ "กิตติศักดิ์ ปรกติ ขึ้นเวทีต้านระบอบทักษิณ ชี้เป็นรัฐบาลนอกกฎหมายหลังปฏิเสธศาล รธน." [Kittisak Prokati on anti-Thaksin stage, condemning the government after denying charter court decision] (in Thai). Prachatai. 2013-11-28. Retrieved 2014-05-11.
  11. ↑ "กิตติศักดิ์อ้างชัยวัฒน์ยึดสถานที่ราชการเป็นสันติวิธีเชิงรุก" [Kittisak cites Chaiwat's words, saying seizure of public offices is an active peaceful method] (in Thai). Prachatai. 2013-11-29. Retrieved 2014-05-11.
  12. ↑ "อายัดเพิ่ม 20 แนวร่วม กปปส. กบฏ!". คมชัดลึก. 2013-12-20. Retrieved 2014-05-11.
  13. ↑ "ศาลออกหมายจับ 30 แกนนำ กปปส." [Court issued arrest warrants for 30 PDRC leaders] (in Thai). Manager. 2014-05-14. Retrieved 2014-05-14.
  14. ↑ "กิตติศักดิ์ อจ. นิติศาสตร์ มธ. 1 ใน 30 แกนนำ กปปส. ข้อหากบฎ เข้ามอบตัว ใช้ตำแหน่งประกัน" [Kittisak, TU law lecturer and one of thirty PDRC leaders, surrenders himself over the charge of insurrection and requests for provisional release, using his position to secure the bail] (in Thai). Matichon. 2014-05-19. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
  15. ↑ "ประมวลวิวาทะ เมื่องานวิชาการของกิตติศักดิ์ ปรกติ เหมือนกับผลงานของโปรเฟสเซอร์เยอรมัน?" [Collection of statements: when an academic work of Kittisak Prokati is the same as that of a German professor] (in Thai). Matichon. 2014-05-11. Retrieved 2014-05-11.
  16. ↑ Prasit Piwawattanapanit (2014-05-10). "ประสิทธิ์ ปิวาวัฒนพานิช: ตอบอาจารย์กิตติศักดิ์ ปรกติกรณี Lecture Notes เรื่อง อนุสัญญาว่าด้วยเรื่องซื้อขายระหว่างประเทศ (CISG)" [Prasit Piwawattanapanit: reply to Professor Kittisak Prokati on lecture notes concerning CISG] (in Thai). Prachatai. Retrieved 2014-05-11.

External links

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