Former leader of the Move Forward Party Pita Limjaroenrat (right) and the current leader of the party Chaithawat Tulathon talk to reporters before listening to the live verdict at parliament in Bangkok, Thailand, on Jan 31, 2024. (PHOTO / AP)

BANGKOK - A Thai court on Wednesday ruled the biggest party in parliament had violated the constitution in seeking to change a law against insulting the monarchy, in what could set a precedent for any future review of the country's lese majeste law.

The Move Forward Party won last year's election on a progressive platform that included a proposal to amend the lese majeste law, which carries penalties of up to 15 years in jail for each perceived insult of Thailand's crown.

The Constitutional Court ordered Move Forward to abandon that plan, which it ruled was tantamount to an attempt to "overthrow the democratic regime of government with the king as a head of state" and therefore in violation of the constitution.

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Though the court had no remit to prescribe punishments for Move Forward, some politicians have suggested there could be legal efforts to seek its dissolution and political bans for its leaders over its stance on the monarchy law

In a country where reverence for the monarch has for decades been promoted as central to national identity, the law, under which at least 260 people have been prosecuted in the past few years, is seen as sacrosanct.

Move Forward's proposal saw the party's attempt to form a government last year by lawmakers allied with and appointed by the military.

Though the court had no remit to prescribe punishments for Move Forward, some politicians have suggested there could be legal efforts to seek its dissolution and political bans for its leaders over its stance on the monarchy law.

The court case was the latest twist in a two-decade battle for power in Thailand.

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Its predecessor, Future Forward, was disbanded for violating campaign funding rules and its former leader and prime minister candidate Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit was disqualified over a shareholding issue.