Révisé par ThaiLawOnline, un cabinet d'avocats thaïlandais agréé exerçant en Thaïlande depuis 2006. Avocate thaïlandaise en charge du dossier : Wichuda Atthamethakon, LL.M., licence du barreau thaïlandais 3149/2556.
Dernière mise à jour le 5 septembre 2026
Le Tribunal pour enfants et pour la famille (ศาลเยาวชนและครอบครัว, san yaowachon lae khropkhrua, usually just the family court) is the specialised court of first instance that hears family cases and criminal cases against children and young persons in Thailand. It sits under the Juvenile and Family Court and Juvenile and Family Case Procedure Act B.E. 2553 (2010), with the Central Juvenile and Family Court in Bangkok and a juvenile and family court in every province. A foreigner meets it in a contested divorce, a custody or maintenance dispute, a légitimation petition or an application to appoint a tuteur.
Table des matières
Jurisdiction and how the court sits
What it hears. Civil family cases under Book V of the Code civil et commercial: contested divorce on the grounds in Section 1516, division of biens matrimoniaux, parental power and contact, maintenance, legitimation, adoption disputes, guardianship, and cases under the Domestic Violence Act. It also hears petitions to declare a person incompetent and criminal charges against persons under 18, under a separate juvenile procedure built around rehabilitation. Uncontested divorces and registered custody agreements do not pass through it; they are done at the district office.
How it sits. A family case is heard by professional judges sitting with associate judges, lay members drawn from the community with experience in family or child welfare, and the panel must include a woman. The court has its own social workers and psychologists, who interview the parents and child and report on the home. Judgments are appealed to the Court of Appeal for Specialised Cases, and a further appeal to the Supreme Court requires permission.
What a foreign litigant should expect
Proceedings are in Thai. Every foreign document, from a marriage certificate to a bank statement, is filed with a certified Thai translation, and a party who does not speak Thai gives evidence through an interpreter. The court is inquisitorial in flavour: judges question the parties directly, and the social worker’s report often carries more weight than the lawyers’ submissions. Hearings in family matters are closed to the public.
Mediation comes first. The court refers every family case to conciliation before trial, and a settlement reached there is recorded as a consent judgment enforceable like any other. Pre-filing mediation under the Civil Procedure Code carries no court fee. Where the case goes to trial, a first-instance judgment usually takes six to twelve months, and the losing party has one month to appeal. Court fees follow the civil scale, 2% of any monetary claim capped at 200,000 baht, with a small fixed fee for claims such as divorce or custody that carry no sum.
Family court, district office and civil court compared
Le amphore registers what the parties agree: marriage, divorce by consent, custody and maintenance clauses, legitimation with consent, and adoption once approved. It decides nothing. The family court decides what the parties cannot agree, and is the only forum for divorce on grounds, contested custody, legitimation without consent, guardianship and incompetence. The ordinary civil court has no jurisdiction over these matters.
The practical difference lies in evidence and time. A registered divorce at the amphur takes an afternoon; a contested divorce takes the better part of a year and turns on documents, witnesses and the social worker’s findings. Foreigners who can reach agreement, even a partial one, and register it at the district office save most of that cost and delay.
Foire aux questions
Can a foreigner file a case in the Thai family court?
Yes. A foreigner can sue or be sued in the Juvenile and Family Court like anyone else, provided the court has jurisdiction, which for divorce and custody usually means that the marriage was registered in Thailand, the defendant lives in Thailand, or the child lives in Thailand. Filings are in Thai and foreign documents need certified translations.
How long does a family court case take in Thailand?
A contested divorce or custody case usually takes six to twelve months to judgment at first instance, longer where property abroad or expert evidence is involved. Mediation at the start can end a case in weeks if the parties settle, and a settlement is recorded as an enforceable consent judgment.
What is the difference between the family court and the amphur for a divorce?
The amphur registers a divorce only when both spouses agree and appear together, recording their terms on custody, maintenance and property. The Juvenile and Family Court grants a divorce on the grounds in Section 1516 when one spouse does not agree, and decides custody, maintenance and property division itself.
Voir aussi : divorce contesté, garde d'enfants, courts of first instance, court fees, and the full guides to contested divorce in Thailand ET garde d'enfants en Thaïlande.
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