The rulings of the Constitutional Court of Thailand have, since the Court's establishment in 1998, had an important impact on Thai politics and jurisprudence. Major rulings having included the 1999 ruling that Deputy Minister of Agriculture Newin Chidchop could retain his Cabinet seat after being sentenced to imprisonment for defamation, the 2001 acquittal of Thaksin Shinawatra for filing an incomplete statement with the National Counter-Corruption Committee, the 2003 invalidation of Jaruvan Maintaka appointment as Auditor-General, and the 2006 invalidation of the nationwide results of a House election.