Article 1387: Servitude, definition
Statutory text (Thai original)
อสังหาริมทรัพย์อาจต้องตกอยู่ในภาระจำยอมอันเป็นเหตุให้เจ้าของต้องยอมรับกรรมบางอย่างซึ่งกระทบถึงทรัพย์สินของตน หรือต้องงดเว้นการใช้สิทธิบางอย่างอันมีอยู่ในกรรมสิทธิ์ทรัพย์สินนั้น เพื่อประโยชน์แก่อสังหาริมทรัพย์อื่น
Verbatim from the Royal Gazette / Office of the Council of State
English translation
An immovable property may be subjected to a servitude by virtue of which the owner of such property is bound, for the benefit of another immovable property, to suffer certain act affecting his property or to refrain from exercising certain rights inherent in his ownership.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified. Always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 1387 codifies the real-property servitude, Thai law's version of an easement. Typical servitudes: rights of way, drainage, electricity-line passage, light/view easements. The servitude attaches to the land itself and passes to whoever owns the dominant or servient land, not personal to the original parties. Registration at the Land Office under §1299 is essential; without registration, the servitude binds only the original parties. Different from the §1349 "way of necessity" which arises by statute, not agreement.
Why this matters in practice
Lawyers: a servitude attaches to the dominant land, not to a person; it runs with both plots on transfer. Consent-based use, even for decades, does not ripen into a servitude unless it was adverse (without the servient owner's permission). Laypersons: a registered right of way across your neighbour's land (e.g. an access road) is a servitude; it belongs to your plot, not to you personally, and passes to future buyers of your land. Using the neighbour's land with their permission does not give you this right: you must either register it or use it without permission for ten continuous years.
Legislative history
Part of the original Civil and Commercial Code codification; no major subsequent amendment. A servitude must be registered under section 1299 to be fully effective as a real right against third parties; it may also arise by prescription under section 1401.
Décisions de la Cour suprême interprétant cette section
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Arrêt de la Cour suprême n° 417/2553 (2010) ★ Monument
Consented use of another's land, however prolonged, cannot ripen into a servitude by prescription; adverse use without the owner's consent is essential.
The plaintiff had used the disputed path for over thirty years but had always done so with the defendant's consent; no matter how long the consented use continued, the plaintiff did not acquire a servitude by prescription under section 1387 because the use was not adverse to the servient owner.
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Arrêt n° 251/2542 de la Cour suprême (1999)
A claim for either a way of necessity or a servitude may be pleaded in the alternative; the court determines which applies on the evidence.
The plaintiff pleaded that the disputed path was either a way of necessity or a servitude; the court was entitled to determine which category applied based on the evidence, and the two causes of action were not mutually exclusive in the same pleading.
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Arrêt de la Cour suprême n° 672/2542 (1999)
Where a servient plot is subdivided and the parts that are built over cease to be used as the way and no longer benefit the dominant tenement, the servitude over those parts is unused or unusable in the circumstances, and their owner may have them freed from it; only the remaining strip that still serves as the lane continues to bear the servitude.
Title deed 2480 was a way of servitude for other plots. After subdivision, the remaining part of plot 2480 was a lane about six metres wide leading out to Phetkasem Road and ending in a cul-de-sac, while plots 19056, 19057 and 19058 had for many years been covered entirely by shophouses and other buildings and were no longer used as the way. The Court held that the land actually used as the way was the remaining part of plot 2480, and that as to the three subdivided plots the servitude was unused or unusable in the circumstances and no longer benefited the dominant tenement, so the plaintiff was entitled to have them freed from it.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Cited in 60 Supreme Court decisions (1948 to 2023)
Décisions de citation sélectionnées
- Decision 819/2562 (2019)
- Décision 6006/2561 (2018)
- Decision 9882/2560 (2017)
- Decision 417/2553 (2010)
- Decision 307/2552 (2009)
- Decision 2058/2549 (2006)
- Decision 255/2547 (2004)
- Decision 1023/2546 (2003)
Cette liste est sélectionnée automatiquement, en privilégiant les jugements qui reposent sur cet article plutôt que sur ceux qui se contentent de le citer lors du prononcé de la peine. Elle n'a pas encore été examinée par le cabinet.
Le plus souvent cité aux côtés de
- Article 1401 21
- Article 1382 12
- Article 1390 8
- Article 1336 5
- Article 1299 5
- Art. 142 du Code pénal thaïlandais 4
Sections qui apparaissent le plus souvent dans les mêmes jugements que celui-ci. Le chiffre correspond au nombre de décisions.
Calculé sur l'ensemble du corpus de 83 652 décisions de la Cour suprême du cabinet, de 1921 à 2026. Le décompte est exhaustif ; la plage d'années indiquée élimine les valeurs aberrantes rares afin de refléter la répartition réelle des citations. Ces chiffres sont calculés par nos soins et ne constituent pas des statistiques officielles de la Cour. Comment nous les comptons et ce que nous avons mesuré
Foire aux questions
Quelle est la différence entre une servitude et une voie de nécessité ?
Une servitude (article 1387) est un droit réel enregistré, consenti volontairement ou acquis par une durée de dix ans d'usage adverse ; elle est attachée au bien et opposable aux propriétaires ultérieurs. Un droit de passage (article 1349) est un droit légal qui naît automatiquement lorsqu'un terrain est enclavé ; il ne nécessite pas d'enregistrement et se limite au passage minimal nécessaire. Une servitude peut porter sur de nombreux éléments autres que le passage (drainage, vue, etc.) ; un droit de passage ne concerne que l'accès des piétons et des véhicules.
L'utilisation d'un chemin traversant le terrain de mon voisin pendant 10 ans me confère-t-elle automatiquement une servitude ?
Only if the use was adverse: meaning without the neighbour's permission, openly, and continuously for ten years. If at any point the neighbour gave consent, the clock resets and the consented period does not count toward the ten years. You should then apply to court for a declaration and register the servitude at the Land Office.
Guides connexes sur ThaiLawOnline
Citer cette section
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Citation simple
Civil and Commercial Code, s. 1387 (Thailand) -
Citation académique
Civil and Commercial Code (Thailand), s. 1387. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-civil-code/section-1387/ (accessed 30 août 2026). -
Citation thaïlandaise
ป.พ.พ. มาตรา 1387 -
Lien permanent
https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-civil-code/section-1387/ -
Intégrer sur votre site
<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-civil-code/section-1387/"><p>Un bien immobilier peut être soumis à une servitude en vertu de laquelle le propriétaire de ce bien est tenu, au profit d'un autre bien immobilier, de subir certains actes affectant son bien ou de s'abstenir d'exercer certains droits inhérents à sa propriété.</p><footer>Civil and Commercial Code, s. 1387 (Thailand): <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-civil-code/section-1387/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.