Banjerd Singkaneti is an Assistant Professor of Law at Thammasat University

Faculty of Law, Thammasat University

The Faculty of Law, Thammasat University is a public agency of the Thai Government, being an academic faculty attached to Thammasat University, Ministry of Education. It is the second oldest university faculty in the country, preceded only by the Faculty of Medicine, Mahidol University...

 and a noted critic of Thai

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

 Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Education and early career

Banjerd completed an LL.B. at Bangkok's Ramkhamhaeng University

Ramkhamhaeng University

Ramkhamhaeng University is one of two open universities in Thailand. The university was named in honor of King Ramkhamhaeng the Great of Sukhothai, who traditionally is credited for creating the Thai alphabet....

. He received an LL.M. in public law

Public law

Public law is a theory of law governing the relationship between individuals and the state. Under this theory, constitutional law, administrative law and criminal law are sub-divisions of public law...

 from Thammasat University, followed by a Magister Legum (LL.M.) Doktors der Rechte (Dr.jur.) from Ruhr-Universität Bochum in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. He returned to Thailand after completing his doctorate and now teaches administrative law

Administrative law

Administrative law is the body of law that governs the activities of administrative agencies of government. Government agency action can include rulemaking, adjudication, or the enforcement of a specific regulatory agenda. Administrative law is considered a branch of public law...

 and constitutional law

Constitutional law

Constitutional law is the body of law which defines the relationship of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the legislature and the judiciary....

 at Thammasat University.

Criticism of Thaksin Shinawatra

Banjerd was a leader of the People's Alliance for Democracy

People's Alliance for Democracy

The People's Alliance for Democracy also called the National Liberation Alliance - กลุ่มพันธมิตรกู้ชาติ, Thai Patriots Network or the Yellow Shirts - เสื้อเหลือง - was originally a coalition of protesters against Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Prime Minister of Thailand. Its leaders include...

, a group active in 2006

Thailand political crisis 2005-2006

In 2005 and 2006, a series of events occurred in Thailand as a result of an unrest with Thaksin Shinawatra that was supported by Sondhi Limthongkul and his coalitions...

 which attempted to bring down the government of Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Thailand

The Prime Minister of Thailand is the head of government of Thailand. The Prime Minister is also the chairman of the Cabinet of Thailand. The post has existed since the Revolution of 1932, when the country became a constitutional monarchy....

 Thaksin Shinawatra

Thaksin Shinawatra

Thaksin Shinawatra is a Thai businessman and politician, who was Prime Minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006, when he was overthrown in a military coup....

. He famously criticized Thaksin as being even worse than Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...

.
The Embassy of Israel protested in a letter to the Bangkok Post

Bangkok Post

The Bangkok Post is a broadsheet, English-language daily newspaper published in Bangkok, Thailand. The first issue was sold on August 1, 1946. It had four pages and cost 1 baht, a considerable amount at the time....

, the English-language newspaper which published Banjerd's statement.

Assect Examination Committee

After a military coup overthrew the government of Thaksin in a coup, the junta appointed Banjerd to the Asset Exemination Committee to investigate allegations of corruption against Thaksin. He was also appointed to the Constitution Drafting Committee prepare a new constitution.

During the drafting process, Banjerd said in an interview: “I personally believe in social structure and administration through traditions and customs that we once had in small communities. It’s more real than western-style democracy because people rule by themselves. I firmly believe that we really need to look back into our village life.”