Translation:Public Prosecution Institution and Public Prosecutors Act, 2553 BE

Public Prosecution Institution and Public Prosecutors Act, 2553 BE (2010)
National Assembly of Thailand, translated from Thai by Wikisource
1405925Public Prosecution Institution and Public Prosecutors Act, 2553 BE2010National Assembly of Thailand

Seal of the Royal Command
Seal of the Royal Command

Public Prosecution Institution and Public Prosecutors
Act,
2553 BE


Bhumibol Adulyaej R
Given on the 3rd day of December 2553 BE[1]
Being the 65th year of the present reign

Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramin Maha Bhumibol Adulyadej gives a great royal command by which He orders with His pleasure that it be announced as follows:

Whereas it is appropriate to have a law on the public prosecution institution and public prosecutors;

[Whereas] this Act contains certain provisions relating to the restriction of the rights and freedoms of persons, which section 29, in conjunction with section 32, section 33, and section 41, of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand permits to be done by virtue of the powers under legal provisions;

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 "Public Prosecution Institution[2] and Public Prosecutors Act, 2553 BE".

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

Section3.The following shall be repealed:

(1)the Public Prosecutors Act, 2498 BE;[3]

(2)the Public Prosecutors Act (No. 2), 2500 BE;[4]

(3)the Public Prosecutors Act (No. 3), 2502 BE[5]

(4)the Public Prosecutors Act (No. 4), 2507 BE;[6]

(5)the Public Prosecutors Act (No. 5), 2517 BE.[7]

Section4.In this Act—

"PPSC" means the Public Prosecution Service Commission under the law on the rules of the public servants in the public prosecution service;

"public servant in the public prosecution service" means a public servant in the public prosecution service under the law on the rules of the public servants in the public prosecution service;

"public prosecutor" means a person who has appointed to a position of public prosecutor in accordance with this Act;

"Region" means a territorial area of the Office of the Attorney General as designated by the PPSC in accordance with section 7;

"state agency" means a constitutional institution, central public body, provincial public body, local public body, state enterprise, public organisation, other agency of the State, or any other agency which carries out the affairs of the State;

"state authority" means a public servant, officer, official, employee, or worker called otherwise who belongs to a state agency, whether he is appointed or elected.

Section5.The rules under section 14, paragraph 3, which are issued in accordance with paragraph 1 (2), [and those under] section 20, paragraph 1, section 21, paragraph 2, and section 27, paragraph 3, and the announcements under section 7, paragraph 4, section 9, paragraph 3, section 12, paragraph 2, and section 14(9), shall come into force upon their publication in the Royal Gazette.

Section6.The Attorney General shall be in charge of the execution of this Act.



Section7.The public prosecution institution is composed of the PPSC, the Attorney General, and the other public prosecutors, with the Office of the Attorney General as its administrative unit.

The Office of the Attorney General is a public body which enjoys independence in the administration of its personnel, budgeting affairs, and other activities, and is a juristic person, with the Attorney General as its commander and juristic person representative.

The public servants in the public prosecution service shall be under the Office of the Attorney General.

The division of agencies, the establishment of and the designation of territories of Regions, and the designation of the powers and duties of the internal agencies of the Office of the Attorney General shall be made in the form of announcements of the PPSC.

Section8.The performance of duties by the public prosecution institution shall be in accordance with the provisions of law and the principles of the rule of law.



Section9.Public prosecutor positions are as follows:

(1)Attorney General;

(2)Deputy Attorney Generals;

(3)Public Prosecution Service Inspectors;

(4)Chief Prosecutors;

(5)Chief Regional Prosecutors;

(6)Deputy Chief Prosecutors;

(7)Deputy Chief Regional Prosecutors;

(8)Special Departmental Prosecutors;

(9)Specialised Prosecutors;

(10)Expert Prosecutors;

(11)Provincial Prosecutors;

(12)Provincial Prosecutors attached to the Office of the Attorney General;

(13)Prosecutors attached to the Office of the Attorney General;

(14)Deputy Provincial Prosecutors;

(15)Prosecutors attached to Divisions;

(16)Assistant Provincial Prosecutors;

(17)Assistant Prosecutors.

In addition to the positions under paragraph 1, there shall also be positions of Senior Prosecutors.

In the events which are reasonable and necessary, the PPSC may issue announcements designating positions called otherwise than those under paragraph 1 and may have any of these positions equated to those under paragraph 1.

Section10.The appointment of the Attorney General and the removal of him from his position must be in accordance with the resolution of the PPSC and must obtain approval of the Senate, and the President of the Senate shall countersign the appointment of the Attorney General.

The appointment of the other public prosecutors and the removal of them from their positions shall be in accordance with the law on the rules of the public servants in the public prosecution service.

Section11.There shall be public prosecutors as state attorneys at all courts other than the military courts, according to the manpower plan designated by the PPSC on the basis of necessity and suitability.

Section12.In each Region, there shall be a Regional Prosecution Office headed by one public prosecutor called "Chief Regional Prosecutor".

In the areas where provincial courts, municipal courts, or juvenile and family courts are located, save the area of Bangkok, there shall be a Provincial Prosecution Office for each of the courts, with territorial jurisdiction as designated by announcements of the PPSC and with one public prosecutor as its head, called "Provincial Prosecutor".

It shall be designated by the PPSC as to how many public prosecutors will be for any position in the Regional Prosecution Offices and the Provincial Prosecution Offices.

Section13.The public prosecutors regularly serving in the central public service shall be the public prosecutors for all the courts of first instance in Bangkok. The Attorney General, or the Deputy Attorney General or Chief Prosecutor to whom this duty has been assigned by the Attorney General, shall be the head of those public prosecutors for the courts of first instance in regard to their performance of public service.

Section14.The public prosecutors have the following powers and duties:

(1)the powers and duties according to the Constitution;

(2)in criminal cases, [the public prosecutors] have the powers and duties according to the Criminal Procedure Code and other laws which provide that such powers and duties belong to the Office of the Attorney General or public prosecutors;

(3)in civil or administrative cases, [the public prosecutors] have the powers and duties to run cases in court or in all arbitral proceedings on behalf of the Government, state agencies which are constitutional institutions, central public bodies, or provincial public bodies, as well as the powers and duties according to other laws which provide that such powers and duties belong to the Attorney General or public prosecutors;

(4)in civil, administrative, or criminal cases which are instituted against state authorities with respect to their performance of duties, or in civil or criminal cases which are instituted against any private citizens with respect to their observance of orders given lawfully by state authorities or their participation with or provision of assistance to state authorities who were acting in the performance of public duties, the public prosecutors may, when found appropriate, accept to set up defence on their behalves;

(5)in civil cases, administrative cases, or contentious cases requiring arbitral processes, to which state agencies other than those mentioned in (3) or juristic persons who are not state agencies but have been established by acts or royal decrees are parties, and which are not their disputes with the Government or disputes between the state agencies themselves, the public prosecutors may, when found appropriate, accept to set up response or defence[8] on their behalves;

(6)in cases which citizens cannot institute on their own motion due to legal prohibition, the public prosecutors have the power of institution[9] when found appropriate;

(7)[the public prosecutors] are to carry out activities, as found appropriate, in relation to the execution of criminal judgments only for the seizure of property to cover the fines according to the judgments, in respect of which no costs shall be levied upon the public prosecutors;

(8)in events of breach of secured bonds for bailing out defendants or for taking out articles for caretaking according to the Criminal Procedure Code, [the public prosecutors] have the power and duty to run cases for execution of those bonds, in respect of which no costs shall be levied upon the public prosecutors;

(9)other powers and duties as designated by announcements of or as approved by the PPSC for the implementation of laws or cabinet resolutions;

(10)[the public prosecutors] are to carry out other duties which laws designate as the powers and duties of public prosecutors;

(11)[the public prosecutors] are to carry out other duties which have been designated as the powers and duties of the Office of the Attorney General, as assigned by the Attorney General.

In the performance of the duties under section 14 (3), (4), and (5) by a public prosecutor, the public prosecutor may issue an order summoning any relevant person to appear and give statement, but he shall not summon the other party to appear and give statement without consent of such party.

How much a public prosecutor in any position may act according to paragraph 1 shall be governed by the rules which are designated by the Office of the Attorney General with the approval of the PPSC.

Section15.The Attorney General and the Deputy Attorneys General have the power to run cases in every court. The Chief Regional Prosecutors have the power to run cases in every court within their Regions. The other public prosecutors have the power to run cases in the courts of the areas where they are in regular service only, with the following exceptions:

(1)When the Attorney General orders a public prosecutor regularly serving in one area to go assist in the public service in another area temporarily or to run any specific case, or when a Chief Regional Prosecutor orders a public prosecutor regularly serving in one area within his Region to go assist in the public service in another area temporarily or to run any specific case within the Region, that public prosecutor shall have the power to run cases in the courts of the area and shall have the power to run the cases up to the appellate courts and the Supreme Court of Justice or Supreme Administrative Court, as the case may be.

(2)When a Chief Regional Prosecutor orders a public prosecutor regularly serving in his Region to have the power to run cases in every court within the Region, that public prosecutor shall have the power to run cases in every court within such Region and shall have the power to the cases up to the appellate courts and the Supreme Court of Justice or Supreme Administrative Court, as the case may be.

(3)When a case run by a public prosecutor in a court of first instance comes into the consideration of an appellate court or the Supreme Court of Justice, the public prosecutor running the case, or another public prosecutor at that court of first instance, or a different public prosecutor appointed or authorised by the Attorney General has the power to run the case in the appeal or final appeal stage.

(4)In the case where a court takes evidence at the request of another court or when a case is transferred to another court for trial, a public prosecutor at this new court, or the public prosecutor running the case from the outset, or a public prosecutor at the court handling the case from the outset has the power to run the case in the court which conducts the requested taking of evidence or the court which accepts the transferred case.

Section16.In exercising specific powers and duties for a case which has to be initiated by a public prosecutor, or in examining facts for the execution of the Constitution or any other law, the public prosecutor shall have the power to seek for facts and to collect evidence, to interrogate witnesses, to order summoning any person to appear and give testimony before him, to order the surrender of evidence, documents, or objects, and to conduct other activities as found appropriate, and he may request competent authorities or state authorities to conduct any activities as found appropriate. However, if the person so ordered is the other party to the case or is the accused, the said person may refuse to appear or give testimony or may refuse to surrender the evidence, documents, or objects ordered.

Section17.When a public prosecutor carries out duties in the event where a law designates that he has powers and duties to inquire into a criminal case, save the event where he conducts an inquiry together with an inquiry official or he produces an inquiry file together with an inquiry official, the public prosecutor shall have the same powers and duties of inquiry as those of an inquiry official. In this regard, the public prosecutor shall become a senior administrative or police official and have the powers and duties according to the Criminal Procedure Code, by virtue of which he may participate with a police officer or other officer in making, or may request a police officer or other officer to make, a search, arrest, or detention.

Section18.The orders of a public prosecutor according section 16 and section 17 shall be deemed to be the imperatives of a public prosecutor according to the Penal Code.

Section19.In regard to the exercise or performance by public prosecutors of the powers or duties under the Criminal Procedure Code or other laws, the Attorney General shall have the power to give specific orders or lay down rules for the public prosecutors to observe.

In the event where a law provides a power for the Attorney General, if the law does not designate a specific method for the assignment of such power, the Attorney General may assign the power to a Deputy Attorney General or a Chief Regional Prosecutor. However, this does not apply to the powers under section 21 of this Act and section 20, paragraph 6, section 143, and section 145 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

In assigning a power according to paragraph 2, the Attorney General may law down rules for the assignee to observe.

Section20.Subject to section 19, the acting as or for a public prosecutor holding any position under section 9 shall be governed by the rules designated by the PPSC.

In the event where any other law appoints a public prosecutor in any position as a member of a committee or grants him certain powers and duties, the person acting as or for him shall also have the powers and duties as a member of the committee or have the powers and duties as the holder of such position when acting as or for him, as the case may be.

Section21.The public prosecutors are independent in considering and giving orders as to cases and in performing their duties according to the Constitution and laws in an honest and just manner.

Should a public prosecutor find that the institution of a criminal case would not be in the interest of the public or would have an effect on the safety or security of the Nation or on an important benefit of the Country, he shall submit the matter to the Attorney General, and the Attorney General shall have the power to order that the institution of the case be withheld. However, this shall be governed by the rules which are designated by the Office of the Attorney General with the approval of the PPSC.

The stipulations of paragraph 2 shall also apply mutatis mutandis to the event in which a public prosecutor refrains from filing a petition, refrains from filing an appeal, refrains from filing a final appeal, withdraws an instituting document,[10] withdraws a petition, withdraws an appeal, or withdraws a final appeal.

Section22.The discretion exercised by a public prosecutor in considering and giving orders as to cases and in performing the duties according to section 21, for which a statement of reasonable grounds has been given, is protected.



Section23.Apart from having the powers and duties relating to administrative and academic works for supporting and facilitating public prosecutors, the Office of the Attorney General shall also have the following powers and duties:

(1)to provide assistance to the people in regard to the carrying out of legal affairs, as well as the protection and safeguarding of the rights and freedoms of the people and the provision of legal knowledge to the people;

(2)to provide advice to and review draft contracts or legal documents for the Government and state agencies;

(3)to provide advice to and review draft contracts or legal documents for juristic persons who are not state agencies but have been established by acts or royal decrees, when found appropriate;

(4)to carry out activities as to the execution of civil judgments or administrative judgments on behalf of the Government or state agencies for whom the public prosecutors have accepted to run the cases;

(5)to carry out activities as requested by the Council of Ministers, save where those activities would be incompatible with the works under the duties of, or would be incompatible with the independence in the performance of duties of, the public prosecutors;

(6)to carry out activities in relation to training for the sake of improvement of the public servants in the public prosecution service;

(7)to cooperate with state agencies in the administration of justice and the preservation of the benefits of the State and the people;

(8)to contact and coordinate with foreign institutions or agencies in relation to the matters under the powers and duties of the public prosecutors or Office of the Attorney General;

(9)to carry out any other acts which law provides to be subject to the powers and duties of the public prosecutors or Office of the Attorney General.

In reviewing draft contracts according to (2) and (3), the Office of the Attorney General shall have the duty to preserve the benefits of the State. In this regard, the Office of the Attorney General has the duty to report to the Government, or the state agencies under (2) or the juristic persons under (3) who are parties to the contracts, the matters for the perfection of which improvement or alteration should be made, the disadvantageous matters, or the matters which are likely to bring about damage to the State.

Section24.The Office of the Attorney General shall propose its expenditure budget to the Council of Ministers so that financial support would be allocated for the Office of the Attorney General in the bill on the expenditure budget for the budgeting year, or a bill on an additional expenditure budget, or a bill on the transfer of an expenditure budget, as the case may be.

In the event where the Office of the Attorney General finds that the allocated expenditure budget is insufficient, the Office of the Attorney General shall be able to directly make a motion for amendment thereof to the House of People's Representatives committee for consideration of expenditure budget.

Section25.The Office of the Attorney General shall be an audit agent according to the organic law on state audit.

Once the State Audit Office has examined and verified all the accounts and financial affairs of the Office of the Attorney General, [the State Audit Office] shall also directly submit the audit outcome to the House of People's Representatives, the Senate, and the Council of Ministers.

Section26.In the event where there is a law, regulation, rule, regulation,[11] or announcement designating that a ministry, sub-ministry, or department is exempted from payment of any tax or is exempted from or is granted a grace period for the observance of any law, the Office of the Attorney General shall enjoy such an exemption or grace period also.

Section27.The Attorney General shall have the following powers and duties:

(1)to designate the policy for and be responsible for the performance of public service of the Office of the Attorney General so that it produces effective outcomes and are in line with the goals, guidelines, and plans on the performance of public service of the Office of the Attorney General;

(2)to control, oversee, and be responsible for the administration of public service, the performance of public service, and the administration of personnel of the Office of the Attorney General so that they are in line with the laws, rules, norms, and practical traditions of the public sector;

(3)to manage the budgets, finance, property, and supplies of the Office of the Attorney General.

In regard to the public duties[12] according to paragraph 1, the Attorney General may assign to any particular Deputy Attorney General or public servant in the public prosecution service the power to carry them out on his behalf.

The Attorney General shall have the power to issue with the approval of the PPSC rules relating to the management of budgets, finance, property, and supplies of the Office of the Attorney General.

In carrying out the duties under (1) and (2), the Attorney General shall have the power to issue rules, announcements, or orders as necessary for the performance of public service of the Office of the Attorney General, in so far as they are not contrary to or inconsistent with the rules or announcements designated by the PPSC by virtue of this Act.



Section28.The Office of the Attorney General under the Act for Reorganisation of Ministries, Sub-ministries, and Departments, 2545 BE,[13] shall become the Office of the Attorney General under this Act.

Section29.All the affairs, property, rights, obligations, public servants, officials, employees, and budget money of the Office of the Attorney General under the Act for Reorganisation of Ministries, Sub-ministries, and Departments, 2545 BE,[13] shall be transferred to the Office of the Attorney General under this Act.

Section30.All the royal decrees, regulations, rules, ordinances, regulations,[11] announcements, or orders applicable to the administrative organisation, the division of public service, and the performance of duties by the public prosecutors, and any other matters governing the public prosecutors or Office of the Attorney General, which are in force on the day prior to the day of coming into force of this Act, shall remain in force to the extent not contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, until the rules, announcements, or orders of the PPSC or Attorney General, which are issued by virtue of this Act, come into force.

Section31.As regards all and any laws, regulations, rules, ordinances, regulations,[11] announcements, orders, or cabinet resolutions in existence prior to the day of coming to force of this Act, which refer to the Public Prosecution Service Department, the Director General of the Public Prosecution Service Department, the Deputy Directors General of the Public Prosecution Service Department, and the Public Prosecution Service Inspectors, it shall be deemed that those laws, regulations, rules, ordinances, regulations, announcements, orders, or cabinet resolutions refer to the Office of the Attorney General, the Attorney General, the Deputy Attorneys General, and the Public Prosecution Service Inspectors under this Act, respectively.

As regards all and any laws, regulations, rules, ordinances, regulations,[11] announcements, orders, or cabinet resolutions in existence prior to the day of coming to force of this Act, which refer to the Special Prosecutors for Consultation or positions equivalent to the Special Prosecutors for Consultation, Special Prosecutors for Cases or positions equivalent to the Special Prosecutors for Cases, or Special Prosecutors for Academic Affairs or positions equivalent to the Special Prosecutors for Academic Affairs, it shall be deemed that those laws, regulations, rules, ordinances, regulations, announcements, orders, or cabinet resolutions refer to the Chief Prosecutors under this Act.

As regards all and any laws, regulations, rules, ordinances, regulations,[11] announcements, orders, or cabinet resolutions in existence prior to the day of coming to force of this Act, which refer to the Special District Prosecutors or positions equivalent to the Special District Prosecutors, Deputy Chief Departmental Prosecutors, Deputy Chief District Prosecutors, Provincial Prosecutors attached to the Department, and Prosecutors attached to the Department, it shall be deemed that those laws, regulations, rules, ordinances, regulations, announcements, orders, or cabinet resolutions refer to the Chief Regional Prosecutors, Deputy Chief Prosecutors, Deputy Chief Regional Prosecutors, Provincial Prosecutors attached to the Office of the Attorney General, and Prosecutors attached to the Office of the Attorney General under this Act, respectively.

Countersignatory:
Abhisit Vejjajiva
Prime Minister

Note: The grounds for the promulgation of this Act are as follows: As the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand provides that the public prosecution institution is a special[14] constitutional institution and that the public prosecutors are independent in considering and giving orders as to cases and in carrying out their duties in a just manner, in respect of which section 255, paragraph 5, provides that the public prosecution institution is furnished with an administrative unit which is independent in the administration of personnel, budgeting affairs, and other activities, with the Attorney General as its commander, [and the details of which] are to be provided by laws, it is thus necessary to make legal provisions stating[15] that there be the public prosecution institution and that the Office of the Attorney General be the administrative unit of the public prosecution institution accordign to the Constitution, with the Attorney General of its Act, so that the said provisions of the Constitution are met. Moreover, the Public Prosecutors Act, 2498 BE, which has been in force for a long time, should be improved anew so that it be up-to-date. It is therefore necessary to enact this Act.

Notes edit

  1. The year 2553 BE corresponds to the year 2010 CE.
  2. In fact, the Thai term ongkon (Thai: องค์กร), which is here translated as "institution", corresponds to, has been coined for, and is the phono-semantic matching of the English term "organ".
  3. The year 2498 BE corresponds to the year 1955 CE.
  4. The year 2500 BE corresponds to the year 1957 CE.
  5. The year 2502 BE corresponds to the year 1959 CE.
  6. The year 2507 BE corresponds to the year 1964 CE.
  7. The year 2517 BE corresponds to the year 1974 CE.
  8. In Thai, wa tang (Thai: ว่าต่าง) means to set up response (to the defending party) on behalf of the instituting party, and kae tang (Thai: แก้ต่าง) means to set up defence (against the instituting party) on behalf of the defending party.
  9. Literally, "the power to be instituting parties".
  10. The Thai term fong (Thai: ฟ้อง), here translated as "instituting document", refers to any document instituting a case in court, such as a civil plaint, criminal charge, etc.
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 In general, kot (Thai: กฎ) and khobangkhap (Thai: ข้อบังคับ) are both known as "regulation" in English. Kot is often used for regulations issued by the executive branch, such as kot krasuang (Thai: กฎกระทรวง), which translates as "ministerial regulation", whilst khobangkhap is often for those issued by the other branches, such as khobangkhap prathan sandika (Thai: ข้อบังคับประธานศาลฎีกา), translating as "regulation of the President of the Supreme Court of Justice". In this section, both kot and khobangkhap are used, for which reason the term "regulation" appears twice.
  12. Literally, "In performing the public duties".
  13. 13.0 13.1 The year 2545 BE corresponds to the year 2002 CE.
  14. Originally, "other".
  15. Originally, "necessary to designate".

Bibliography edit

  • "Phra Ratchabanyat Ongkon Aiyakan Lae Pha-nak-ngan Aiyakan Phoso Song Phan Ha Roi Hasip Sam" [Public Prosecution Institution and Public Prosecutors Act, 2553 BE]. (2010, 7 December). Ratchakitchanubeksa [Royal Gazette], 127(75A), 38–50. (In Thai).

   This work is a translation and has a separate copyright status to the applicable copyright protections of the original content.

Original:

 

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:

7. The following shall not be deemed copyright works under this Act:

  1. news of the day and facts having the character of mere information, not being works in the literary, scientific or artistic fields;
  2. the constitution and legislation;'
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Translation:

 

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In case this is not legally possible:

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