Translation:Civil and Commercial Code Amendment Act (No 19), 2551 BE

by National Legislative Assembly of Thailand (2006)

Table of contents 

Act

1. Title
2. Commencement
3. Amendment to §1462: spousal request for permission to live separately
4. Amendment to §1546: legitimacy of child born of unmarried mother
5. Amendment to §1555: presumption of being a legitimate child of a man
6. Amendment to §1557: effective date of legitimacy of child
7. Amendment to §1598/37: biological parents to recover parental power upon cessation of adoption

Statement of grounds

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Seal of the Royal Command

Civil and Commercial Code Amendment
Act (No 19),
2551 BE

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Bhumibol Adulyadej R
Given on the 23rd day of March 2551 BE
Being the 63rd year of the present reign

Phrabat Somdet Phra Paramin Maha Bhumibol Adulyadej gives a great royal command is pleased to command that it be announced as follows:

Whereas it is appropriate to amend the Civil and Commercial Code;

Therefore, He is graciously pleased to enact, by and with the advice and consent of the National Legislative Assembly, the following Act:

Section1.This Act is called the Civil and Commercial Code Amendment Act (No 19), 2551 BE.

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

Section3.The text of section 1462 of the Civil and Commercial Code shall be repealed and replaced by the following text:

“Section1462.In the event that a husband and wife cannot live and cohabit together peacefully as husband and wife, or if living together would endanger the body or mind or would seriously destroy the peace, the husband or wife who cannot live and cohabit with the other peacefully as husband and wife, or who would be endangered, or whose peace would be destroyed may request a court to permit him or her to live separately during the existence of such incident. In this event, the court may designate an amount of maintenance to be paid by one party to the other party as appropriate for the circumstances.”

Section4.The text of section 1546 of the Civil and Commercial Code shall be repealed and replaced by the following text:

“Section1546.A child born of a woman who has not married a man shall be deemed to be a legitimate child of such woman, save where a law otherwise provides.”

Section5.The text of section 1555 of the Civil and Commercial Code, which has been amended by the Civil and Commercial Code Amendment Act (No 10), 2533 BE, shall be repealed and replaced by the following text:

“Section1555.In an action for legitimation of a child, the child shall be presumed to be a legitimate child of the man when any of the following facts is found:

(1)when the mother was raped, carried off, or unlawfully detained or restrained during the period in which she could get pregnant;

(2)when the mother was sexually abducted or deceived into having sexual intercourse during the period in which she could get pregnant;

(3)when a document from the father shows that the child is his child;

(4)when an entry in the birth register, made upon the notification of or with the knowledge or consent of the father according to evidence, shows that the child is his child;

(5)when the father and mother openly cohabited during the period in which she could get pregnant;

(6)when there was sexual intercourse with the mother during the period in which she could get pregnant and there is an appropriate reason to believe that the child was not fathered by another man;

(7)when there is a circumstance in which the state of being a child has been generally known all along.”

Section6.The text of section 1557 of the Civil and Commercial Code shall be repealed and replaced by the following text:

“Section1557.Legitimacy of the child under section 1547 takes effect from the day of the birth of the child, but this shall not be invoked to the prejudice of the rights of a third party who acted in good faith during the time from the birth of the child to the marriage of the father and mother, or the registration of the child by the father, or the giving of the final judgment by a court declaring the child to be his child.”

Section7.The text of section 1598/37 of the Civil and Commercial Code, which has been amended by the Civil and Commercial Code Amendment Act (No 10), 2533 BE, shall be repealed and replaced by the following text:

“Section1598/37.Upon the death of the adopter or recission of the adoption, if the adopted child has not yet attained majority, the biological father and mother shall be restored to the parental power from the time the adopter died, or from the time the recission of the adoption is registered according to section 1598/31, or from the time the court gave the final judgment granting the recission, save where the court finds it appropriate to give a different order.

In the event that a guardian has been appointed since before the death of the adopter or before the recission of the adoption, the guardian shall continue to have the same powers and duties, save where a court gives an order permitting the biological father and mother to exercise the parental power at their request.

Change of the person exercising the parental power under paragraph 1 or the guardian under paragraph 2 shall not prejudice the rights acquired in good faith by a third party before the adopter died or before the recission of the adoption is registered.

A public prosecutor shall have the power to request a court for a different order according to paragraph 1.”

Countersignature
General Surayud Chulanont
Prime Minister

Note: The reasons for promulgation of this Act are as follows: Since the provisions of Book 5 of the Civil and Commercial Code which deal with the making of a request to a court for an order permitting a husband and wife to live apart, the status of being a legitimate child of a woman, the status of being a legitimate child of a man, the calculation of the days of being a legitimate child of a father, and the restoration of the parental power over a minor child upon recission of his or her adoption, are still not in line with and do not support the living conditions in the society at present, it is appropriate to improve them for more suitability. It is therefore necessary to enact this Act.