Supreme Administrative Court: Ordinary Ecclesiastical Council Cannot Appoint Deputies
The Supreme Administrative Court has ruled that the Ordinary Ecclesiastical Council lacks legal authority to appoint assistant abbots (Than-anukrom) under the repealed Sangha Administration Act (R.S. 121). The Court reaffirmed its prior opinion that the current Sangha Act (BE 2505) contains no provisions for such appointments, rendering any existing appointments legally invalid.
On November 15, 2026, Supreme Administrative Court Secretary-General Nopphon Phiriwek signed a memo (No. 1332/2026) regarding the appointment of assistant abbots in the Ordinary Ecclesiastical Council. The memo notes that the Office of National Buddhism submitted a letter dated September 23, 2026, summarizing a Supreme Sangha Council meeting on June 10, 2026, which considered the issue of appointing assistant abbots for positions such as Phra Palat, Phra Samu, and Phra Baidika within the Ordinary Ecclesiastical Council in certain areas. However, the royal proclamation granting ecclesiastical titles does not specify that the Ordinary Ecclesiastical Council has the authority to appoint assistant abbots, unlike higher ecclesiastical ranks where such authority is explicitly stated. The inquiry referenced the Sangha Administration Act (R.S. 121) in the same manner as the appointment of provincial chief monks, a matter on which the Supreme Administrative Council previously opined in memo No. 1335/2024. That opinion concluded that the Sangha Administration Act (R.S. 121) and the Sangha Act (BE 2484) have been repealed, and the current Sangha Act (BE 2505) contains no provision governing the appointment of assistant abbots by monk officials administering the sangha. Therefore, provincial chief monks cannot appoint assistant abbots under the repealed act, and any such appointments have no legal effect. However, the question of whether the Ordinary Ecclesiastical Council can appoint assistant abbots has not been definitively adjudicated, nor has the legal basis for such action been clarified. The Supreme Sangha Council also reviewed a 1915 Ministry of Justice proclamation on the administration of royal temples, which in Section 7 grants the abbot of a royal temple authority to appoint assistant abbots, and in Section 8 allows the deputy abbot or senior assistant to appoint two assistant abbots (one Phra Palat and one Phra Samu). The Supreme Sangha Council therefore tasked the Office of National Buddhism with submitting the legal question to the Supreme Administrative Court for an opinion on whether the Ordinary Ecclesiastical Council can appoint assistant abbots for the positions of Phra Palat, Phra Samu, and Phra Baidika under the repealed Sangha Administration Act (R.S. 121). The Supreme Administrative Court (8th session) considered the Office's submission, with representatives presenting the facts, and concluded that its previous opinion in memo No. 1335/2024 already determined that the Sangha Administration Act (R.S. 121) was repealed by Section 3 of the Sangha Act (BE 2484), and subsequently...
