Lèse majesté in Thailand

Lèse majesté is the crime of violating majesty, an offence against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state. It has been prohibited by the law of Thailand since 1908. In 1932, when Thailand's monarchy ceased to be absolute and a constitution was adopted, it too included language prohibiting lèse-majesté. All versions of the Thai Constitution since 1932 contain the clause, "The king shall be enthroned in a position of revered worship and shall not be violated. No person shall expose the king to any sort of accusation or action." The Thai Criminal Code elaborates in section 112: "Whoever defames, insults or threatens the king, queen, heir-apparent, or regent shall be punished with imprisonment of three to fifteen years." Missing from the code, however, is a definition of what actions constitute "defamation" or "insult".