Translation:Charter of the Courts of Justice, 2543 BE
Section1.The courts of justice under this Charter are of three tiers, namely, courts of first instance, appellate courts, and Supreme Court of Justice, save where a law otherwise prescribes.
Section2.The courts of first instance are the Civil Court, the Bangkok South Civil Court, the Thon Buri Civil Court, the Criminal Court, the Bangkok South Criminal Court, the Thon Buri Criminal Court, provincial courts, municipal courts, and other courts of justice which are designated as courts of first instance by their constituent acts.
Section3.The appellate courts are the Court of Appeal and the Regional Courts of Appeal.
Section4.The Supreme Court of Justice, appellate courts, and courts of first instance may divide their public service into divisions or agencies called otherwise and may permit them to separately and specifically exercise their powers over any types of cases or over cases in any territory under their jurisdiction. This shall be effected announcements issued by the Courts of Justice Judicial Administration Commission.
The announcements of the Courts of Justice Judicial Administration Commission under paragraph 1 shall come into force upon publication in the Royal Gazette.
Section5.The President of the Supreme Court of Justice shall have the duty to lay down rules for the judicial service of the courts of justice in order that the business of the courts of justice shall proceed in an orderly and uniform manner. In addition, the President of the Supreme Court of Justice shall have the power to supervise judges in order that they shall correctly observe the rules and procedures designated by the law or by other means.
Section6.The Secretary General of the Office of the Judiciary, with the approval of the Courts of Justice Judicial Administration Commission, has the power to propose an opinion as to the establishment, dissolution, or change of jurisdiction of courts of justice to the Council of Ministers for consideration and implementation, having regard to the number, conditions, locations, and jurisdiction of the courts as may be necessary for the smooth bringing of justice to the people throughout the Kingdom.
Section7.The Courts of Justice Judicial Administration Commission shall designate the number of judges in the courts of justice which suits the necessity of the public service.
Section8.There shall be one President of the Supreme Court of Justice for the Supreme Court of Justice, one President of the Court of Appeal for the Court of Appeal, and one President of the Regional Court of Appeal for each Regional Court of Appeal. And there shall be one chief judge of the court of first instance for each of the Civil Court, Bangkok South Civil Court, Thon Buri Civil Court, Criminal Court, Bangkok South Criminal Court, Thon Buri Criminal Court, and other courts of justice designated as courts of first instance by their constituent acts. And there shall be one Vice President of the Supreme Court of Justice for Supreme Court of Justice, one Vice President of the Court of Appeal for the Court of Appeal, and one Vice President of the Regional Court of Appeal for each Regional Court of Appeal, as well as one deputy chief judge of the court of first instance for each of the Civil Court, Bangkok South Civil Court, Thon Buri Civil Court, Criminal Court, Bangkok South Criminal Court, Thon Buri Criminal Court, and other courts of justice designated as courts of first instance by their constituent acts. And in the event of necessity for the benefit of the public service, the Courts of Justice Judicial Administration Commission may, with the approval of the President of the Supreme Court of Justice, designate that there be more than one but not than three Vice Presidents of the Supreme Court of Justice or deputy chief judges of a court of first instance.
When the position of President of the Supreme Court of Justice, President of the Court of Appeal, President of a Regional Court of Appeal, or chief judge of a court of first instance becomes vacant or when the holder of the said position becomes unable to serve, the Vice President of the Supreme Court of Justice, Vice President of the Court of Appeal, Vice President of the Regional Court of Appeal, or deputy chief judge of the court of first instance, as the case may be, shall act in his stead. If there are several Vice Presidents of the Supreme Court of Justice or deputy chief judges of the court of first instance, the most senior Vice President of the Supreme Court of Justice or deputy chief judge of the court of first instance shall act in his stead. If the most senior person is unable to serve, the person next in seniority shall act in his stead.
In the event that there is no person to act instead of the President of the Supreme Court of Justice, President of the Court of Appeal, President of a Regional Court of Appeal, or chief judge of a court of first instance in accordance with paragraph 2, or there is one but the one becomes unable to serve, the most senior judge in such court shall act in his stead. If the most senior person is unable to serve, the judge next in seniority shall act in his stead.
In the event that there is no person to act in accordance with paragraph 3, the President of the Supreme Court of Justice may order a particular judge to act instead.
No senior judge or junior judge shall act in any position under paragraph 1.
Section9.In provincial courts or municipal courts, there shall be one presiding judge for each of the courts.
When the position of presiding judge of a provincial court or presiding judge of a municipal court becomes vacant, or when the holder of the said position becomes unable to serve, the most senior judge in such court shall act in his stead. If the most senior person in the court is unable to serve, the judge of that court who is next in seniority shall act in his stead.
In the event that there is no person to act in accordance with paragraph 2, the President of the Supreme Court of Justice may order a particular judge to act instead.
No senior judge or junior judge shall act in any position under paragraph 1.
Section10.In the event that the public service of the Supreme Court of Justice, an appellate court, or a court of first instance is divided into divisions or agencies called otherwise, there shall be one presiding judge of the division or agency called otherwise for each division or agency.
When the position of presiding judge of a division or presiding judge of an agency called otherwise according to paragraph 1 becomes vacant, or when the holder of the said position becomes unable to serve, the most senior judge in such division or agency called otherwise shall act in his stead. If the most senior person in the division or agency called otherwise is unable to serve, the judge of that division or agency called otherwise who is next in seniority shall act in his stead.
In the event that there is no person to act in accordance with paragraph 2, the President of the Supreme Court of Justice may order a particular judge to act instead.
No senior judge or junior judge shall act in any position under paragraph 1.
Section11.The President of the Supreme Court of Justice, the President of the Court of Appeal, the Presidents of the Regional Courts of Appeal, the chief judges of the courts of first instance, and the presiding judges of the courts must be responsible for the public service of their courts in order that it proceed in an orderly manner, and they shall have the following powers and duties also:
(1)to participate in sittings for trying and adjudicating upon cases which impact the security of the State or which interest the public, cases which contain serious criminal offences, cases which involve high amounts of money, and cases of court contempt, according to the criteria designated in the rules for the judicial service of the courts of justice;
(2)to give orders on motions and applications submitted to them in accordance with the provisions of procedural laws;
(3)to oversee the correct application of rules and procedures established by the law or by other means, in order that the trial and adjudication of cases be concluded in an expeditious manner;
(4)to give advice to judges in their courts regarding the obstruction the judges meet in the performance of their duties;
(5)to cooperate with administrative officials on all affairs relating to the organisation and carrying out of the administrative business of the courts;
(6)to make reports on cases and affairs of their courts to be sent in accordance with rules;
(7)to exercise other powers and duties as designated by the law.
The Vice Presidents of the Supreme Court of Justice, the Vice Presidents of the Court of Appeal, the Vice Presidents of the Regional Courts of Appeal, or the deputy chief judges of the courts of first instance shall also have the power under (2) and shall have the duty to assist the President of the Supreme Court of Justice, the President of the Court of Appeal, the Presidents of the Regional Courts of Appeal, or the chief judges of the courts of first instance, as the case may be, as authorised by the President of the Supreme Court of Justice, the President of the Court of Appeal, the Presidents of the Regional Courts of Appeal, or the chief judges of the courts of first instance.
Section12.The presiding judges of the divisions or the presiding judges of the agencies called otherwise in accordance with section 10, paragraph 1, must be responsible for the work of their divisions or agencies called otherwise in order that it proceed in an orderly manner according to those which are designated the announcements of the Courts of Justice Judicial Administration Commission constituting those divisions or agencies called otherwise, and must observe the orders of the President of the Supreme Court, the President of the Court of Appeal, the President of the Regional Court of Appeal, the chief judge of the court of first instance, or the presiding judge of the court.
Section13.There shall be one regional chief judge for each of the nine regions, of which the locations and jurisdiction shall be designated by the Courts of Justice Judicial Administration Commission by means of publication in the Royal Gazette.
When a position of regional chief judge becomes vacant or when a regional chief judge becomes unable to serve, the President of the Supreme Court of Justice shall order a particular judge to act instead.
No senior judge or junior judge shall act in any position under paragraph 1.
Section14.A regional chief judge shall also be a judge of the courts under his jurisdiction, having the powers and duties as designated in section 11, paragraph 1, in addition to the following powers and duties:
(1)to order the chiefs of the court of justice offices to report about cases or other affairs of the courts under his jurisdiction;
(2)in the event of necessity, he may order any judge of a court under his jurisdiction to go assist in the work of another court for a temporary period of not exceeding three months with the consent of that judge, and shall promptly report this to the President of the Supreme Court of Justice.
Section15.No court of justice shall accept for trial and adjudication a case which another court of justice has duly accepted, save where such case is transferred to it in accordance with the provisions of a procedural law or with the Charter of the Courts of Justice.
Section16.The courts of first instance have territorial jurisdiction as designated by their constituent acts.
The Civil Court and the Criminal Court have territorial jurisdiction over all the districts of Bangkok, save the districts which are under the territorial jurisdiction of the Bangkok South Civil Court, the Thon Buri Civil Court, the Bangkok South Criminal Court, the Thon Buri Criminal Court, the Min Buri Provincial Court, and other courts of justice, as designated by their constituent acts.
In the event that a case is instituted before the Civil Court or Criminal Court and such case occurred outside the territorial jurisdiction of the Civil Court or Criminal Court, then the Civil Court or Criminal Court, as the case may be, may exercise discretion as to whether it should accept to try and adjudicate upon the case or should order it to be transferred to another competent court of justice.
In the event that a case is instituted before a provincial court and such case occurred inside the territorial jurisdiction of a municipal court and is under the power of a municipal court, the provincial court shall order the case to be transferred to the competent municipal court.
Section17.Municipal courts have the power to try and adjudicate upon cases and have the power to conduct examinations or issue any orders for which a single judge has the power as designated in section 24 and section 25, paragraph 1.
Section18.Provincial courts have the power to try and adjudicate upon all the civil and criminal cases which are not under the power of the other courts of justice.
Section19.The Civil Court, the Bangkok South Civil Court, and the Thon Buri Civil Court have the power to try and adjudicate upon all civil cases and any of the other cases which are not under the power of the other courts of justice.
The Criminal Court, the Bangkok South Criminal Court, and the Thon Buri Criminal Court have the power to try all the criminal cases which are not under the power of the other courts of justice, as well as any other cases which a law subjects to the power of a court of criminal jurisdiction, as the case may be.
Section20.Other courts of justice have the power to try and adjudicate upon cases as designated by their constituent acts or other laws.
Section21.The Court of Appeal has territorial jurisdiction over all the districts which are not under the territorial jurisdiction of the Regional Courts of Appeal.
In the event that an appeal against a case is submitted to the Court of Appeal and such case is outside the territorial jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal, the Court of Appeal may exercise discretion as to whether it should accept to try and adjudicate upon the case or should order it to be transferred to the competent Regional Court of Appeal.
Section22.The Court of Appeal and the Regional Courts of Appeal have the power to try and adjudicate upon all cases in which judgments or orders of courts of first instance are appealed according to the provisions of the laws dealing with appeals and with jurisdiction of courts, and have the following powers:
(1)to reaffirm, revise, reverse, or rescind judgments of courts of first instance which sentence persons to death or life imprisonment, when the cases have been sent up to the Court of Appeal and the Regional Courts of Appeal as prescribed in the criminal procedure laws;
(2)to give decisive rulings upon motions and applications submitted to the Court of Appeal or Regional Court of Appeal in accordance with the law;
(3)to give decisive rulings upon cases which the Court of Appeal and the Regional Courts of Appeal have the power to rule upon in accordance with other laws.
Section23.The Supreme Court of Justice has the power to try and adjudicate upon all cases in which appeals are made against judgments or orders of the Court of Appeal and Regional Courts of Appeal and cases in which appeals against judgments or orders of courts of first instance are directly made to the Supreme Court of Justice according to the legal provisions dealing with appeals or final appeals, as well as cases which any other law subjects to the power of trial and adjudication of the Supreme Court of Justice. In addition, it has the power to give decisive rulings or orders upon motions and applications submitted to it in accordance with the law.
As regards the cases for which the Supreme Court of Justice has already conducted trials and passed judgments or orders, no party has the right to further file a petition against them with the Crown.
Section24.A single judge shall have the following powers:
(1)to issue summonses, criminal warrants, or writs requiring persons to be sent from or to other provinces;
(2)to issue any order which does not constitute a decisive ruling upon a dispute in a case.
Section25.In a court of first instance, a single judge constitutes a panel with the following powers in relation to the cases subject to the competency of such court:
(1)to conduct examinations and issue decisive rulings upon motions or applications submitted to the court for all cases;
(2)to conduct examinations and issue orders relating to safety measures;
(3)to conduct preliminary examinations and issue orders in criminal cases;
(4)to try and adjudicate upon civil cases in which the value of the property in dispute or the amount of the money claimed does not exceed three hundred thousand baht; the said property value or money amount may be increased by enactment of a royal decree;
(5)to try and adjudicate upon criminal cases for which the maximum rate of punishment designated by the law is imprisonment of not over three years, or a fine of not over sixty thousand baht, or both the imprisonment and fine; however, he cannot impose imprisonment in excess of six months, or a fine in excess of ten thousand baht, or both imprisonment and fine of which either or both exceed the said rate.
No junior judge has the power under (3), (4), or (5).
Section26.Subject to section 25, as for the trial and adjudication of cases before a court of first instance other than a municipal court or other court of justice for which its constituent act designates otherwise, there must be at least two judges, amongst whom there must be no more than one junior judge, to constitute a panel having the power to try and adjudicate upon all civil or criminal cases.
Section27.In the trial and adjudication of cases before the Court of Appeal, a Regional Court of Appeal, or the Supreme Court of Justice, there must be at least three judges to constitute a panel with the power to try and adjudicate upon cases.
Judges of the Court of Appeal, judges of a Regional Court of Appeal, and judges of the Supreme Court of Justice who attend a general meeting of such court or of a division of the court have the power to, after inspecting the file of a case at the general meeting of the court or at a meeting of the division, participate in the adoption of a judgment or order for the case and, only for the Court of Appeal or Regional Court of Appeal, have the power to express dissenting opinions also.
Section28.In the course of the trial of any case, if there arises force majeure or other unavoidable necessity which causes any of the judges that constitute the panel for the trial of such case to be unable to sit at the trial any further, the following judge shall be able to sit in his stead:
(1)for the Supreme Court of Justice, the President of the Supreme Court of Justice or a judge of the Supreme Court of Justice who has been authorised by the President of the Supreme Court of Justice;
(2)for the Court of Appeal or a Regional Court of Appeal, the President of the Court of Appeal, the President of the Regional Court of Appeal, or a Vice President of the Court of Appeal, Vice President of the Regional Court of Appeal, or judge of the Court of Appeal or Regional Court of Appeal who has been authorised by the President of the Court of Appeal or President of the Regional Court of Appeal, as the case may be;
(3)for a court of first instance, the chief judge of the court of first instance, a regional chief judge, the presiding judge of the court, or a deputy chief judge of the court of first instance or a court of first instance judge of such court who has been authorised by the chief judge of the court of first instance, regional chief judge, or presiding judge of the court, as the case may be.
The persons acting in the positions under section 8, section 9, and section 13 shall have the power according to (1), (2), and (3) also.
Section29.In the course of the adoption of a judgment for any case, if there arises force majeure or other unavoidable necessity which causes any of the judges that constitute the panel for the trial of such case to be unable to participate in the adoption of the judgment for such case any further, the following judge shall have the power to give signature for the adoption of the judgment and, only for the Court of Appeal, Regional Courts of Appeal, and courts of first instance, shall also have the power to express dissenting opinions, after having inspected the file of that case:
(1)for the Supreme Court of Justice, the President of the Supreme Court of Justice or Vice President of the Supreme Court of Justice;
(2)for the Court of Appeal or a Regional Court of Appeal, the President of the Court of Appeal, President of the Regional Court of Appeal, Vice President of the Court of Appeal, or Vice President of the Regional Court of Appeal, as the case may be;
(3)for a court of first instance, the chief judge of the court of first instance, regional chief judge, deputy chief judge of the court of first instance, or presiding judge of the court, as the case may be.
The persons acting in the positions under section 8, section 9, and section 13 shall have the power according to (1), (2), and (3) also.
Section30.Other unavoidable necessity according to section 28 and section 29 denotes the event in which any of the judges that constitute the panel trying the case vacates the position he is holding, or is recused and withdraws himself, or is unable to perform the public service to the point of being unable to further participate in the sitting for trying and adjudicating upon such case.
Section31.Apart from that which is designated in section 30, other unavoidable necessity according to section 28 and section 29 shall also include the following events:
(1)the event in which a single judge preliminarily examines a criminal case and finds that a judgment should be issued to dismiss the charge, but the rate of punishment designated by the law for that case exceeds the rate of punishment under section 25(5);
(2)the event in which a single judge tries a criminal case under section 25(5) and finds that a judgment should be issued to impose imprisonment in excess of six months, or a fine in excess of ten thousand baht, or both imprisonment and a fine of which either or both exceed the said rate;
(3)the event in which a judgment or order for any civil case of a court needs to be adopted by a panel of several judges and the judges constituting such panel are of conflicting opinions to the point that no majority can be found;
(4)the event in which a single judge tries a civil case under section 25(4) and later finds that the value of the property in dispute or the amount of money claimed is beyond the trial and adjudication power of a single judge.
Section32.The President of the Supreme Court of Justice, the President of the Court of Appeal, the Presidents of the Regional Courts of Appeal, the chief judges of the courts of first instance, the presiding judges of courts, or the presiding judges of the divisions of each court, as the case may be, shall be responsible for the assignment of case files to the judicial panels in their courts or divisions, for which they shall observe the criteria and procedure designated by the rules for the judicial service of the courts of justice.
In issuing the rules for the judicial service of the courts of justice according to paragraph 1, regard shall be had to the expertise and appropriateness of the judicial panels to be responsible for case files, as well as the quantity of the cases under the responsibility of each judicial panel.
Section33.Recall or transfer of a case file under the responsibility of any judicial panel shall only be made by the President of the Supreme Court of Justice, President of the Court of Appeal, President of a Regional Court of Appeal, chief judge of a court of first instance, or presiding judge of a court only when the fairness in trying and adjudicating upon cases before such court is likely to be affected and the Vice President of the Supreme Court of Justice, Vice President of the Court of Appeal, Vice President of the Regional Court of Appeal, deputy chief judge of the court of first instance, most senior judge in the provincial court, or most senior judge in the municipal court, as the case may be, who is not part of the panel in charge of the case file has proposed an opinion that this should be done.
In the event that the Vice President of the Supreme Court of Justice, deputy chief judge of the court of first instance, most senior judge in the provincial court, or most senior judge in the municipal court, as the case may be, is unable to serve or has become part of the panel in charge of the case file to be recalled or transferred, the Vice President of the Supreme Court of Justice, deputy chief judge of the court of first instance, or judge of that court who is next in seniority shall have the power to propose the opinion instead. In the event that there is only one Vice President of the Supreme Court of Justice or deputy chief judge of the court of first instance, and in the event that the Vice President of the Court of Appeal or Vice President of the Regional Court of Appeal is unable to serve or has become part of the panel in charge of the case to be recalled or transferred, the most senior judge of that court shall then become the person who has the power to propose the opinion.
No senior judge or junior judge has the power to propose the opinion according to paragraph 1 or paragraph 2.
In the event that a large number of cases is pending before a judge rapporteur or judicial panel, which would delay the trial and adjudication of cases before that court, and the judge rapporteur or judicial panel applies for permission to return a case file under his or its responsibility, the President of the Supreme Court of Justice, President of the Court of Appeal, President of the Regional Court of Appeal, chief judge of the court of first instance, or presiding judge of the court, as the case may be, shall have the power to accept the return of the said case file and transfer it into the responsibility of another judge or judicial panel in that court instead.
Bibliography edit
- "Phra Thammanun San Yuttitham" [Charter of the Courts of Justice]. (2000, 18 May). Ratchakitchanubeksa [Royal Gazette], 117(44A), 1–2, 12. (In Thai).
This work is a translation and has a separate copyright status to the applicable copyright protections of the original content.
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This work is in the public domain worldwide because it originated in Thailand and is a work under section 7(2) of Thailand's Copyright Act, 2537 BE (1994) (WIPO translation), which provides:
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I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. This applies worldwide. In case this is not legally possible: I grant anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.
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