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Le Cour d'appel (ศาลอุทธรณ์, San Uthon, also spelt San Utthon) is the second tier of the Thai Courts of Justice, sitting between the courts of first instance and the Supreme Court (San Dika). It re-examines a judgment on both the facts and the law, working from the written record rather than hearing the witnesses again. For most foreigners the Court of Appeal is where a lost civil claim, a criminal conviction or a disputed garde à vue order gets its second and often final look, because access to the Supreme Court has been restricted since 2015.
Table des matières
Structure des cours d'appel et compétences
There is not one Court of Appeal but several. The Court of Appeal in Bangkok hears appeals from the Bangkok courts, and nine Regional Courts of Appeal (Regions 1 to 9, seated in cities such as Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, Nakhon Ratchasima, Phuket and Songkhla) hear appeals from the provincial and kwaeng courts in their area. Since 2016 a separate Court of Appeal for Specialised Cases takes appeals from the labour, tax, intellectual property and international trade, faillite, and juvenile and family courts. All sit in panels of three judges within the three tier court system.
The appeal itself. In a civil case the appeal must be filed within one month of the day the judgment is read (Civil Procedure Code Section 229); the same month applies in criminal cases. It is lodged at the court that gave the judgment, not at the Court of Appeal. The next two rules are civil only. In a civil appeal the appellant pays a court fee on the amount disputed, and where that amount does not exceed 50,000 baht the parties may raise questions of law only, unless a judge who sat at first instance dissented or certified that there was reasonable ground, or permission to appeal is given (Civil Procedure Code Section 224). Neither rule reaches a criminal appeal: Section 252 of the Criminal Procedure Code forbids the courts of justice to charge a fee in a criminal case, and the bar on appealing the facts there is set by Section 193 bis on the maximum penalty, not by an amount in dispute.
Points pratiques pour un étranger faisant appel en Thaïlande
An appeal is a written exercise. There is normally no oral hearing: the court reads the appeal, the reply, the transcript and the exhibits, then issues a written judgment which is read out at the original first instance court, often 6 to 18 months later. A defendant in a criminal case who is not in custody must present himself when filing. The appeal is drafted in Thai by a avocat thaïlandais agréé, so a foreigner who lost at first instance needs to instruct one well inside the month, or apply for an extension before the deadline expires.
L'erreur courante is to assume that filing an appeal freezes the judgment. It does not. A civil judgment can be enforced while the appeal is pending unless the appellant obtains a stay of execution, which usually means putting up security.
Cour d'appel par rapport à la Cour suprême
The Court of Appeal reviews everything: it can reassess the evidence, change findings of fact, increase or reduce dégâts, and alter a sentence. The Supreme Court is different. Since the 2015 amendment to the Civil Procedure Code a civil dika appeal needs the permission of the Supreme Court (Section 247), granted only where the case raises an important question of law, involves the public interest, or conflicts with earlier Décisions de Dika. In criminal cases an appeal on the facts to the Supreme Court is barred where the Court of Appeal confirmed a sentence of five years or less.
In practice the Court of Appeal is the last court that will weigh the evidence in an ordinary contract, land, divorce or custody dispute, and the appeal to prepare properly.
Foire aux questions
Quel est le délai pour faire appel d'un jugement de tribunal en Thaïlande ?
Un mois à compter du jour où le jugement est lu, tant en matière civile que pénale. L'appel est interjeté auprès du tribunal de première instance qui a rendu le jugement. Une prolongation peut être demandée à ce même tribunal, mais la demande doit être formulée avant l'expiration du délai d'un mois.
La Cour d'appel de Thaïlande entend-elle à nouveau des témoins ?
Non. La Cour d'appel statue sur pièces : la transcription du premier procès, les pièces produites ainsi que le mémoire d'appel et la réplique. Il n'y a pas de nouvelles preuves et, en règle générale, pas d'audience de plaidoiries, et le jugement est lu au tribunal d'origine de longs mois plus tard.
Puis-je faire appel de la Cour d'appel auprès de la Cour suprême thaïlandaise ?
Seulement avec autorisation en matière civile. Depuis 2015, la Cour suprême n'admet un pourvoi en cassation (dika) en matière civile que s'il soulève une question de droit importante ou d'intérêt public. En matière pénale, un pourvoi sur les faits est irrecevable lorsque la cour d'appel a confirmé une peine de cinq ans ou moins.
Voir aussi : Tribunaux de première instance, Supreme Court (San Dika), Frais de justice, Le système juridique thaïlandais expliqué ET Criminal appeals and Supreme Court processes.
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