Law of Thailand - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The law of Thailand is based on the civil law

Civil law (legal system)

Civil law is a legal system inspired by Roman law and whose primary feature is that laws are codified into collections, as compared to common law systems that gives great precedential weight to common law on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different...

, but has influence from common law

Common law

Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...

(see also world legal systems

Legal systems of the world

The legal systems of the world today are generally based on one of three basic systems: civil law, common law, and religious law – or combinations of these...

Sources of Law

The principle law sources in Thailand are:

Constitution of Thailand
Constitution of Thailand
The Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand is the supreme law of Thailand. Since the change from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional democracy in 1932, Thailand has had 17 charters and constitutions, reflecting the high degree of political instability and frequency of military coups faced...

- prevails over other laws
Acts and statutes - Many of which created and amended the 4 basic codes: Civil and Commercial Code (CCC), Penal Code (PC), Civil Procedure Code and the Criminal Procedure Code. Newer codes include the Land Code and Revenue Code. The year on statutes in Thailand is given in the Buddhist Era (BE) based on the Thai solar calendar
Thai solar calendar
The Thai solar calendar, Suriyakati was adopted by King Chulalongkorn in AD 1888 as the Siamese version of the Gregorian calendar. It is the legal calendar in Thailand, though Thai lunar calendar dates continue in use. Years are now counted in the Buddhist Era that is 543 years greater than...

.
Emergency Decree or Royal Proclamation - this is made by the King, upon the advice of the Cabinet, where an urgent law is needed for national security, public safety, national economic stability or avert a public calamity. An example is the Emergency Decree on Public Administration in Emergency Situation BE 2548 (AD 2005).
Treaties
Subordinate Legislation - includes Regulations (Ministerial), Orders, Notifications, Royal Decrees and Rules.
Supreme Court Opinions and other Judicial Decisions - Judicial precedent in Thailand is not binding. Courts are not bound to follow their own decisions and lower courts are not bound to follow precedents set by higher courts. However, Thai law has been influenced by common law precedent. Courts are therefore significantly influenced by earlier decisions or decisions of higher courts. The Supreme Court of Justice publishes it decisions, known as the Supreme Court Opinions. These are frequently used as secondary authority and are numbered according to the year issued. Other judicial decisions or rulings are published by the Administrative Court and the Constitutional Court.

Constitutional Law

The Constitution of Thailand

Constitution of Thailand

The Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand is the supreme law of Thailand. Since the change from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional democracy in 1932, Thailand has had 17 charters and constitutions, reflecting the high degree of political instability and frequency of military coups faced...

is the supreme law of Thailand which prevails over other laws passed by parliament. The 2007 Constitution of Thailand

2007 Constitution of Thailand

A Permanent Constitution for the Kingdom of Thailand was drafted by a committee established by the military junta that abrogated the previous 1997 Constitution. On August 19, 2007, a referendum was held in which 59.3% of the voters voted in favor of the constitution...

is the most recent constitution. The Constitutional Court of Thailand

Constitutional Court of Thailand

The Constitutional Court of Thailand is an independent Thai court originally established under the 1997 Constitution with jurisdiction over the constitutionality of parliamentary acts, royal decrees, draft legislation, as well as the appointment and removal of public officials and issues regarding...

has jurisdiction to make rulings over the constitutionality of parliamentary acts, royal decrees, draft legislation, appointment and removal of public officials and issues regarding political parties (see Rulings of the Constitutional Court of Thailand

Rulings of the Constitutional Court of Thailand

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...

Criminal Law

Criminal offences (that can lead to arrest and imprisonment) are enumerated in the Thai Penal Code (or Criminal Code

Criminal Code

A criminal code is a document which compiles all, or a significant amount of, a particular jurisdiction's criminal law...

) as well as numerous other statutes. Criminal procedures are outlined in the Criminal Procedure Code.

Drug offences are dealt with by several statutes. The Narcotics Act BE 2522 (AD 1979) defines narcotics, classifies them into categories, details offences and outlines punishments. Penalties for producing, importing or exporting narcotics are outlined in sections 65 to 102 (Chapter 12) and include fines, life imprisonment or death. Other narcotics laws include the Psychotropic Substances Act BE 2518 (AD 1975) and the Narcotics Control Act BE 2519 (AD 1976).
The offence of Lèse majesté
Lèse majesté
Lese-majesty is the crime of violating majesty, an offence against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state.This behavior was first classified as a criminal offence against the dignity of the Roman republic in Ancient Rome...

is found in the Criminal Code. Article 112 states that "Whoever defames, insults or threatens the King, Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent, shall be punished (with) imprisonment of three to fifteen years" ( see also Lèse majesté in Thailand).

Administrative Law

Administrative law

Administrative law is the body of law that governs the activities of administrative agencies of government. Government agency action can include rulemaking, adjudication, or the enforcement of a specific regulatory agenda. Administrative law is considered a branch of public law...

matters such as judicial review are handled by the Administrative Court, which was established under The Act On Establishment Of Administrative Courts And Administrative Court Procedure BE 2542 (1999). The jurisdiction of the court includes unlawful act by an administrative agency or State official (e.g. ultra vires, inconsistent with law, bad faith etc.), neglecting or unreasonable delay in official duties, wrongful act or other liability of an administrative agency, administrative contracts, mandating a person to do something or an injunction.

Immigration Law

Visa and immigration law

Immigration law

Immigration law refers to national government policies which control the phenomenon of immigration to their country.Immigraton law, regarding foreign citizens, is related to nationality law, which governs the legal status of people, in matters such as citizenship...

is outlined in the Immigration Act BE 2522 (1979) and its amendments. The Immigration Bureau of the Royal Thai Police administers the law, while the Immigration Commission shall have power and duty to make decision such as giving or revoking permission to stay.

Private Law

The most important reference of private law

Private law

Private law is that part of a civil law legal system which is part of the jus commune that involves relationships between individuals, such as the law of contracts or torts, as it is called in the common law, and the law of obligations as it is called in civilian legal systems...

(or civil law) is the Civil and Commercial Code of Thailand (see also other civil code

Civil code

A civil code is a systematic collection of laws designed to comprehensively deal with the core areas of private law. A jurisdiction that has a civil code generally also has a code of civil procedure...

s). It is composed of several books. Books I and II were first promulgated on 11 November 1925 (BE

Thai solar calendar

The Thai solar calendar, Suriyakati was adopted by King Chulalongkorn in AD 1888 as the Siamese version of the Gregorian calendar. It is the legal calendar in Thailand, though Thai lunar calendar dates continue in use. Years are now counted in the Buddhist Era that is 543 years greater than...

2466). The Civil code is updated as required by amendment acts (for example Act Amending Civil and Commercial Code (No 14) BE 2548 (AD 2005)).

Law of Obligations

The Law of Obligations

Law of obligations

The law of obligations is one of the component private law elements of the civil system of law. It includes contract law, delict law, quasi-contract law, and quasi-delict law...

in general is found in Civil and Commercial Code sections 194 to 353 (Book II, Title I).

Quasi-contract

Quasi-contract

A quasi-contract is a fictional contract created by courts for equitable, not contractual purposes. A quasi-contract is not an actual contract, but is a legal substitute for a contract formed to impose equity between two parties. The concept of a quasi-contract is that of a contract that should...

s include undue enrichment, sections 406 to 419 (Book II, Title IV), and management of affairs without mandate, sections 395 to 405 (Book II, Title III).

Law of Obligations - Contract Law

The main source of contract law is the Civil and Commercial Code sections 354 to 394 (Book II, Title II). Specific contracts (Sale, Hire, Mortgage, Insurance, Bills etc.) are found in the Civil and Commercial Code sections 453 to 1011 (Book III, Titles I to XXI).

Law of Obligations - Tort or Delict Law

Tort law or delict

Delict

In civil law, a delict is an intentional or negligent act which gives rise to a legal obligation between parties even though there has been no contract between them. Due to the large number of civil law systems in the world, it is hard to state any generalities about the concept...

law falls within the law of obligations

Law of obligations

The law of obligations is one of the component private law elements of the civil system of law. It includes contract law, delict law, quasi-contract law, and quasi-delict law...

. It is found in the Civil and Commercial Code sections 1012 to 1273 (Book II, Title V). The Code deals with wrongful acts: liability, compensation and exemptions to liability (justifiable acts).

Corporate Law

Basic corporate Law

Corporate law

Corporate law is the study of how shareholders, directors, employees, creditors, and other stakeholders such as consumers, the community and the environment interact with one another. Corporate law is a part of a broader companies law...

is found in the Civil and Commercial Code sections 1012 to 1273 (Book II, Title XXII).
Foreign ownership of certain Thai industries and foreign companies in general are regulated by the Foreign Business Act BE 2542 (AD 1999)

Foreign Business Act of 1999 (Thailand)

The Foreign Business Act was a law enacted by the Chuan Leekpai-controlled National Legislative Assembly of Thailand in 1999 that limited foreign ownership of certain Thai industries. Its predecessor was the Alien Business Act of 1972, enacted by a military junta...

Personal Property Law

The main source of property law

Property law

Property law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property and in personal property, within the common law legal system. In the civil law system, there is a division between movable and immovable property...

is the Civil and Commercial Code sections 1298 to 1434 (Book IV).

Land Law

Land Law is dealt with by the Land Code. This was established by Act Promulgating the Land Code, B.E. 2497 (AD 1954).

Land in Thailand is covered by a system consisting of several title deeds offering different rights of use, possession, ownership or alienation. Most titles are issued by the Land Department and fall within 7 main categories. Another 5 categories are issued by other government departments for specific purposes.

The Chanote (or Nor Sor 4 Jor) category, found in more developed parts of Thailand, offers private ownership (similar to freehold land). Other land is considered to belong to the government or the King of Thailand.

Intellectual property

Intellectual Property Law, that is patents, trademarks and copyright

Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...

, are protected by the Patent Act BE 2522 (1979), Trademark Act BE 2534 (1991) and the Copyright Act BE 2521 (1978) and their amendments respectively. Trade secrets are protected by the Trade Secret Act BE 2545 (2002). The Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) manages intellectual property matters such as registration and enforcement. A registration system exists for trademarks and patents. Copyright is automatically protected for 50 years and does not need registration, however it can be filed with the DIP. Disputes are first heard in the Intellectual Property and International Trade Court.

Family Law

The main source of family law

Family law

Family law is an area of the law that deals with family-related issues and domestic relations including:*the nature of marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships;...

is the Civil and Commercial Code sections 1435 to 1598 (Book V).

Succession Law

The main source of succession law is the Civil and Commercial Code sections 1599 to 1755 (Book VI).

Laws Relating to Foreigners

Foreign Business Act BE 2542 (AD 1999)