Did the now-shuttered Move Forward Party appeal the Thai court's ruling to dissolve it with the International Court of Justice? No, that's not true: The court doesn't have jurisdiction over Thailand's judiciary system and has no power to overturn its ruling. Former party members formed a new party called The People's Party.
The claim appeared in a video posted on TikTok on August 14, 2024, which is no longer available on the platform but is archived here, and had the following caption (translated from Thai into English by Lead Stories staff):
Waiting for the appeal of the World Court⚖️#Move Forward #Court of Appeal #World Court #People's Party #Tim Pita #PitaLimjaroenrat #TengNattaphong #SirikanyaTansakul #BreakingNews #HotTrend
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Wed Aug 21 14:35:25 2024 UTC)
The video also features a headline that says, as translated: "Move Forward Party cheers!! The International Court of Justice has taken up the matter of dissolving the Move Forward Party for consideration in the Court of Appeals with a high chance of victory" and a text that says "Victory! Court agrees to hear the appeal."
The claim followed the dissolution of the MFP, a party seen as progressive and reformist, by an order from the Thai Constitutional Court issued on August 7, 2024. The court ruled (archived here) that its push to amend the lèse-majesté laws during its campaigning mounted an attempt to overthrow the monarchy. The party finished first during the 2023 general election (archived here).
The claim is false, however. The International Court of Justice only settles legal disputes between two countries and gives opinions on legal questions referred to it by specialized agencies and the United Nations, according to its website (archived here). It doesn't settle disputes within one country.
Only states - not individuals, non-governmental organizations, corporations, or any other private entity- can submit cases to the court. All member states of the UN, including Thailand, are eligible. This means the court has no jurisdiction to deal with Thailand's judiciary matters.
As of August 21, 2024, at the time of writing, such a case wasn't listed on the International Court of Justice's pending cases page on its website (archived here).
Additionally, former Move Forward Party members of Parliament have formed a new party called "The People's Party." Former Move Forward Party Leader Pita Limjaroenrat also announced on his Medium page (archived here) that he will take on the role of Visiting Democracy Fellow at Harvard University beginning in the fall 2024 semester.
"As my political tenure has come to a close, I am fully committed to using this opportunity to reflect on the experiences and challenges I encountered during my time in office," wrote Limjaroenrat, who faced a 10-year political ban order from the Thai court.
