Translation:Act Amending the Penal Code (No. 29), 2565 BE

by National Assembly of Thailand

Table of contents 

The Act

Preamble

Section

1. Title
2. Commencement
3. Amendment to §73: liability of children not yet over 12 years of age
4. Amendment to §74: liability of children between 12–15 years of age

Statement of grounds

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Seal of the Royal Command

Act
Amending the Penal Code (No. 29),
2565 BE

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Phra Bat Somdet Phra Paramenthra Ramathipbodi Sisinthra Maha Vajiralongkorn
Phra Wachiraklao Chaoyuhua
Given on the 6th day of May 2565 BE
Being the 7th year of the present reign

Phra Bat Somdet Phra Paramenthra Ramathipbodi Sisinthra Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Wachiraklao Chaoyuhua gives a great royal command by which He orders with His pleasure that it be announced as follows:

Whereas it is appropriate to amend the Penal Code;

Therefore, by and with the advice and consent of the National Assembly, He orders with His gracious pleasure that the following Act be enacted:

Section⁠1.⁠This Act is called the "Act Amending the Penal Code (No. 29), 2565 BE".

Section⁠2.⁠This Act shall come into force from the day following the day of its publication in the Royal Gazette onwards.

Section⁠3.⁠The stipulations of paragraph 1 of section 73 of the Penal Code, which have been amended by the Act Amending the Penal Code (No. 21), 2551 BE, shall be repealed and replaced by the following stipulations:

"Section⁠73.⁠A child aged still not over twelve years who commits an act which the law prescribes to be an offence shall not be punished"

Section⁠4.⁠The stipulations of section 74 of the Penal Code, which have been amended by the Act Amending the Penal Code (No. 21), 2551 BE, shall be repealed and replaced by the following stipulations:

"Section⁠74.⁠⁠A child aged above twelve years but still not over fifteen years who commits an act which the law prescribes to be an offence shall not be punished, but the court shall have the power to proceed with him in the following manners:

(1)⁠⁠the child may be given admonition or warning and then released, and if the court finds it appropriate, it may summon the father, mother, guardian, or person with whom the child resides to appear and receive warning also;

(2)⁠⁠if the court finds that the father, mother, or guardian is still able to take care of the child, the court may issue an order entrusting the child to the father, mother, or guardian, laying down an ordinance requiring the father, mother, or guardian to prevent the child from causing an unfavourable incident throughout the time designated by the court, which must not be over three years, and designating an amount of money as may be found appropriate, but not over ten thousand baht, which the father, mother, or guardian will have to pay to the court every time the child causes the unfavourable incident; but if the child resides with another person than the father, mother, or guardian, and the court finds that it is not appropriate to summon the father, mother, or guardian to appear and attend the laying down of such an ordinance as said above, the court may summon the person with whom the child resides to appear, and ask him if he would accept an ordinance similar to one prescribed for the father, mother, or guardian as said above, and if the person with whom the child resides accepts such ordinance, the court shall issue an order entrusting the child to such person and laying down the said ordinance;

(3)⁠the child may be committed to a institution of education, or place of training and instruction, or place of psychological consultation, or place set up for training and instructing children, throughout a period of time designated by the court but not exceeding the day the child completes the eighteenth year of age.

⁠In the event that the court entrusts the child to the father, mother, guardian, or person with whom the child resides according to (2), the court may also designate for the child the same conditions for supervision of behaviour as those prescribed in section 56. In such event, the court shall appoint a probation official or any other official to supervise the behaviour of the child.

In the event that the child has no father, mother, or guardian, or has one whom the court, however, finds unable to take care of the child, or in the event that the child resides with another person than the father, mother, or guardian, and the person refuses to accept such ordinance as said in (2), the court may issue an order entrusting the child to a person or organisation that the court finds appropriate for the purpose of providing care, instruction, and teaching for a period of time designated by the court, when the person or organisation consents thereto. In such event, the person or organisation shall have the power as a guardian only for the purpose of providing care, instruction, and teaching, as well as for designating the residence and arranging for the child to carry out work as appropriate, or the welfare protection under the law thereon may be implemented for the child.

As for the court orders as said in (2), (3), paragraph 2, and paragraph 3, if, at any moment during the period of time designated by the court, it becomes known to the court proprio motu or from a motion of an interested person, a public prosecutor, or the person or organisation that the court has entrusted the child to for the purpose of providing care, instruction, and teaching, or an officer that the circumstances relating to those orders have changed, the court shall have the power to change or modify the orders or issue new orders by virtue of the power under this section."

Countersignatory:
General Prayut Chan-o-cha
Prime Minister

Note: The grounds for promulgation of this Act are as follows: At present, the Penal Code designates the age of not over ten years as the criterion on the age of the child who is not required to undergo punishment despite having committed an act which the law prescribes to be an offence. However, it is found from medical data that twelve-year-old children are not much different from ten-year-old children, as the cognitive, intelligent, and ethical development and the sense of conscience [of children in this] age range are still not fully grown, thus causing them to still be unable to well enough conjecture the outcome which may arise from their action. In addition, children whose age is [still] not over twelve years are in school for primary education [and] should not be pressed into the process of criminal prosecution, which involves certain procedures that are likely to affect personal rights and liberties and likely to furnish the children with further knowledge about the methods of committing offences to the point of potentially leading to [their] relapse into offences. This being the case, [and] with the highest benefit of children having been taken into account, it is appropriate to put into application the measures under the law on child protection, so that the provision of assistance [to] and the protection of rights and welfare of children whose age is [more than] ten years but still not than twelve years would be enabled to achieve better outcomes and the children would further be enabled to reform themselves and return to the society as [good] quality [members of] the population. Moreover, [changing] the designation of the criterion on the age of the child who is not required to undergo punishment despite having committed an act which the law prescribes to be an offence from the age of not over ten years to the age of not over twelve years would be in line with the General Comment No. 10 (2007): Children's Rights in Juvenile Justice, which has been issued in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and which Thailand has, of its own choice, accepted and promised to follow, subject to the mechanism of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), second cycle (2554 BE to 2563 BE). Therefore, it is necessary to enact this Act.

Bibliography

• "Phra Ratcha Banyat Kaekhaiphoemtoem Pramuan Kotmai Aya (Chabap Thi Yisip Kao) Phoso Song Phan Ha Roi Hoksip Ha" [Act Amending the Penal Code (No. 29), 2565 BE]. (2022, 7 May). Ratchakitchanubeksa [Royal Gazette], 139(28A), 1–4. (In Thai).