Article 163 — Costs when a case ends by settlement
Texte légal (original thaï)
ถ้าคดีได้เสร็จเด็ดขาดลงโดยการตกลงหรือการประนีประนอมยอมความหรืออนุญาโตตุลาการ คู่ความแต่ละฝ่ายย่อมรับผิดในค่าฤชาธรรมเนียมในส่วนการดำเนินกระบวนพิจารณาของตน เว้นแต่คู่ความจะได้ตกลงกันไว้เป็นอย่างอื่น
traduction anglaise
If a case is finally concluded by agreement, by compromise, or by arbitration, each party shall be liable for the court costs relating to its own conduct of the proceedings, unless the parties have agreed otherwise.
Cette traduction anglaise est fournie à titre indicatif uniquement et n'a pas encore été vérifiée de manière définitive ; référez-vous toujours à l'original thaï.
Annotation de l'entreprise
Section 163 sits in Part 2 on ultimate liability for costs and supplies a default rule for cases that never reach a merits judgment. Where a dispute is closed by agreement, compromise, or arbitration, there is no losing party against whom the court apportions costs, so each party simply absorbs the costs of its own proceedings. The rule is expressly subject to contrary agreement, so the parties are free to reallocate costs, including attorney fees, as part of their settlement terms. This complements Sections 161 and 167 on the court's power and duty to fix costs where a case is decided on the merits.
Pourquoi cela est important en pratique
If you are considering settling, remember that a compromise leaves each side carrying its own filing fees and lawyer costs unless the settlement document says otherwise. Negotiators should therefore write the costs allocation directly into the written settlement rather than leave it to this default. This makes a negotiated close through mediation or arbitration in Thailand attractive when both sides want to cap and control their cost exposure.
Décisions de la Cour suprême interprétant cette section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 1848/2516 (1973)
A settlement term making one party liable for the other's attorney fees is valid under Section 163; because it is an agreed term and not a court award to the winner, the parties may fix any amount and are not bound by the Table 6 attorney-fee scale.
The parties agreed that the defendant would be liable for court costs including attorney fees. The court held this agreement valid under Section 163, and that because it was an agreed allocation rather than a court award to the winning side, the parties could set any amount without following the statutory attorney-fee scale in Table 6.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 5272/2539 (1996)
The each-bears-own rule in Section 163 governs only the costs of proceedings before the court decides the case; court costs that arise at the execution stage, such as an officer's fee for a seizure with no sale, fall outside Section 163.
The court held that an execution-stage fee for property seized but not sold is a cost incurred in enforcement, not in the pre-judgment proceedings, so it does not fall under Section 163's each-bears-own rule. Such execution costs are instead governed by the general rules on who conducts the enforcement.
Décisions sélectionnées avec numéros de dossier vérifiés dans la base de données de la Cour suprême. Les versions anglaises sont des traductions éditoriales réalisées par le cabinet à des fins d'étude.
Foire aux questions
Who pays court costs when a case is settled out of court?
Under Section 163, when a case ends by agreement, compromise, or arbitration, each party bears the court costs of its own proceedings unless the parties have agreed on a different split.
Can a settlement make one side pay the other's legal costs?
Yes. Section 163 lets the parties agree otherwise, so a compromise can require one party to pay the other's court costs and attorney fees. Courts have upheld such agreed terms.