Article 155: Right to apply for fee waiver
Statutory text (Thai original)
คู่ความซึ่งไม่สามารถเสียค่าธรรมเนียมศาลอาจยื่นคำร้องต่อศาลขอให้ยกเว้นค่าธรรมเนียมศาลในการฟ้องหรือต่อสู้คดีในศาลชั้นต้นหรือชั้นอุทธรณ์หรือชั้นฎีกาตามที่บัญญัติไว้ในมาตรา ๑๕๖ และมาตรา ๑๕๖/๑
English translation
A party who is unable to pay court fees may file an application with the court for exemption from court fees in bringing or defending an action in the Court of First Instance, the Court of Appeal, or the Supreme Court (Dika), as prescribed in Section 156 and Section 156/1.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified. Always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 155 states the basic right to apply for exemption from court fees, replacing the former pauper-litigation (anatha) regime with a broader waiver open to any party who cannot pay, whether as plaintiff or defendant, and at every level from the trial court up to the Supreme Court. It is the gateway provision: the mechanics of applying are in Section 156 and the criteria and decision, including the possibility of a partial waiver and a right of appeal, are in Section 156/1. The waiver reaches court fees and the deposits associated with them, and courts apply the section, together with Section 156, by analogy in specialised jurisdictions such as labour and consumer cases where their governing statutes so allow.
Why this matters in practice
If the court fee is beyond your means, you are not shut out of court: Section 155 lets you ask for a waiver whether you are the one suing or the one being sued, and at the appeal and Dika stages too. Note that a waiver covers court fees, not every sum you may have to put up, so in some cases money you owe the other side under a lower judgment still has to be lodged. If cost is your main barrier to bringing or defending a claim, a short consultation with a Thai lawyer can confirm whether you are likely to qualify.
Décisions de la Cour suprême interprétant cette section
-
Arrêt de la Cour suprême n° 1932/2568 (2025)
The exemption applied for under Sections 155 and 156 covers only court fees; it does not cover money that must be lodged to reimburse the opposing party under the trial court's judgment, which is not a court fee.
In a consumer case where the defendant owed no court fee on appeal but had to lodge the sum to reimburse the plaintiff under the trial judgment, the Supreme Court held that the waiver of court fees under Sections 155 and 156, applied by analogy, reaches court fees only, not that reimbursement sum.
-
Arrêt de la Cour suprême n° 2070/2562 (2019)
Sections 155 and 156 on waiver of court fees cannot be applied by analogy to excuse an employer from the deposit that section 125 paragraph three of the Labour Protection Act B.E. 2541 requires before it may sue to set aside a labour inspector's order, and the employer may not put up land as security instead.
An employer suing to set aside a labour inspector's order asked to be excused from the cash deposit required by section 125 paragraph three of the Labour Protection Act, invoking Sections 155 and 156 by analogy and offering land as security instead. The Supreme Court refused: the Code's fee-waiver provisions cannot be brought in to displace that deposit. Its further complaint that section 125 paragraph three is unconstitutional also failed, because it asked the appellate court to reverse or vary the order rather than to refer the question to the Constitutional Court as section 212 of the Constitution requires.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Cited in 51 Supreme Court decisions (1956 to 2025)
Décisions de citation sélectionnées
- Décision 1932/2568 (2025)
- Decision 5293/2551 (2008)
- Decision 3080/2550 (2007)
- Decision 5438/2549 (2006)
- Decision 1379/2549 (2006)
- Decision 1689/2548 (2005)
- Decision 1161/2545 (2002)
- Decision 6959/2540 (1997)
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 156 39
- Article 157 6
- Article 229 5
- Article 27 3
- Article 232 3
- Article 234 3
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
Puis-je intenter une action en justice en Thaïlande si je n'ai pas les moyens de payer les frais de justice ?
Oui. L'article 155 permet à une partie qui est incapable de payer les frais de justice de demander une dispense, qu'elle intente ou défende une affaire, au niveau du procès, de l'appel ou du Dika, conformément aux articles 156 et 156/1.
L'exonération des frais couvre-t-elle tout ce que je dois payer au tribunal ?
Pas nécessairement. La dispense couvre les frais de justice, mais les tribunaux ont statué qu'elle ne couvre pas certaines autres sommes, comme les sommes que vous devez déposer pour rembourser l'autre partie en vertu d'un jugement d'un tribunal inférieur.
Guides connexes sur ThaiLawOnline
Citer cette section
-
Citation simple
Civil Procedure Code, s. 155 (Thailand) -
Citation académique
Civil Procedure Code (Thailand), s. 155. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-civil-procedure-code/section-155/ (accessed 1 septembre 2026). -
Citation thaïlandaise
ป.วิ.พ. มาตรา 155 -
Lien permanent
https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-civil-procedure-code/section-155/ -
Intégrer sur votre site
<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-civil-procedure-code/section-155/"><p>A party who is unable to pay court fees may file an application with the court for exemption from court fees in bringing or defending an action in the Court of First Instance, the Court of Appeal, or the Supreme Court (Dika), as prescribed in…</p><footer>Civil Procedure Code, s. 155 (Thailand): <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-civil-procedure-code/section-155/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.