Article 42: Death of a party during a case
Statutory text (Thai original)
ถ้าคู่ความฝ่ายใดฝ่ายหนึ่งในคดีที่ค้างพิจารณาอยู่ในศาลได้มรณะเสียก่อนศาลพิพากษาคดี ให้ศาลเลื่อนการนั่งพิจารณาไปจนกว่าทายาทของผู้มรณะหรือผู้จัดการทรัพย์มรดกของผู้มรณะ หรือบุคคลอื่นให้ที่ปกครองทรัพย์มรดกไว้ จะได้เข้ามาเป็นคู่ความแทนที่ผู้มรณะ โดยมีคำขอเข้ามาเอง หรือโดยที่ศาลหมายเรียกให้เข้ามา เนื่องจากคู่ความฝ่ายใดฝ่ายหนึ่งมีคำขอฝ่ายเดียว คำขอเช่นว่านี้จะต้องยื่นภายในกำหนดหนึ่งปีนับแต่วันที่คู่ความฝ่ายนั้นมรณะถ้าไม่มีคำขอของบุคคลดังกล่าวมาแล้ว หรือไม่มีคำขอของคู่ความฝ่ายใดฝ่ายหนึ่งภายในเวลาที่กำหนดไว้ ให้ศาลมีคำสั่งจำหน่ายคดีเรื่องนั้นเสียจากสารบบความ
English translation
If a party to a case pending before the court dies before the court gives judgment, the court shall postpone the hearing until an heir of the deceased, an administrator of the deceased's estate, or another person having custody of the estate has entered the case as a party in place of the deceased, whether by his own application or by a summons issued by the court upon the ex parte application of either party. Such an application must be filed within one year from the day on which that party died. If no application is made by the said persons, or no application is made by either party within the period fixed, the court shall order the case to be struck off the cause list.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified. Always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 42 addresses what happens when a party dies while the case is still pending, before judgment. The court must postpone the hearing to allow a proper successor, an heir, an estate administrator, or a custodian of the estate, to be substituted as the new party, either on their own application or by summons on the ex parte application of the other side. The provision sets a firm one-year time limit running from the date of death, and paragraph two requires the court to strike the case off the cause list if no substitution application is made in time. It works together with section 43, on voluntary applications to substitute, and section 44, on the summons procedure, and is often applied through special-court procedure statutes such as those for juvenile and family cases. It applies to cases still under trial, not to duties that have already passed to heirs at the enforcement stage.
Why this matters in practice
This one-year deadline is a trap for the unwary: if a party to your case dies and no heir or administrator steps in within one year, the court can strike the whole case, wiping out the progress made. If you are on the other side, you can apply for a summons to bring in the successor and keep the case alive. Sorting out who the heirs or administrator are often means dealing with the estate first, so this is where litigation and inheritance work overlap; our inheritance guide explains the estate side. Act well before the year runs out and get a lawyer to file the substitution properly.
Décisions de la Cour suprême interprétant cette section
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Arrêt de la Cour suprême n° 3902/2568 (2025)
Where a party dies and no heir can be found to substitute within one year of the death, the case must be struck off the cause list under section 42 paragraph two.
The applicant died on 12 December 2023, and the trial court notified counsel to find a person to substitute for the deceased. No heir could be traced to enter as a party within one year of the death. The Supreme Court held that the case had to be struck off the cause list under section 42 paragraph two, applied through section 182/1 paragraph two of the Juvenile and Family Court and Procedure Act, and struck the Supreme Court case accordingly.
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Arrêt de la Cour suprême n° 2659/2566 (2023)
When a defendant in a combined criminal and civil case dies, the criminal case is struck, but for the civil part the trial court must arrange for the person designated by law to be substituted for the deceased under section 42.
The defendant died, so the right to bring the criminal case lapsed under section 39(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code and the criminal part was struck off. For the civil part, the Supreme Court directed the trial court to arrange for the person designated by law to be substituted for the deceased defendant under section 42 of the Civil Procedure Code.
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Arrêt de la Cour suprême n° 2232/2567 (2024)
Where a defendant dies after judgment while the civil matter continues, the attorney's authority does not end at once, and if the civil part is not pursued within the one-year period referable to section 42, the judgment creditor may still enforce against the deceased's heirs.
The Supreme Court held that on the defendant's death the attorney's authority to conduct the civil part did not immediately cease under the agency rules of the Civil and Commercial Code. When the attorney did not act in the civil part within one year under section 42, the plaintiff could still enforce, because the right of enforcement is a property right, not a personal one, and liability under the judgment passed to the defendant's heirs under sections 1599 and 1600 of the Civil and Commercial Code.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Cited in 131 Supreme Court decisions (1952 to 2025)
Décisions de citation sélectionnées
- Décision 3902/2568 (2025)
- Décision 8824/2568 (2025)
- Decision 2659/2566 (2023)
- Decision 534-535/2566 (2023)
- Decision 821/2565 (2022)
- Decision 14252/2558 (2015)
- Decision 13361/2558 (2015)
- Decision 7065/2558 (2015)
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 43 19
- Article 44 15
- Thai CCC s. 828 10
- Art. 1599 du Code civil et commercial thaïlandais 10
- Code civil et commercial thaïlandais, art. 1600 9
- Article 27 9
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
Que se passe-t-il si une partie décède au cours d'une procédure civile en Thaïlande ?
Conformément à l'article 42, le tribunal ajourne l'affaire jusqu'à ce qu'un héritier, un administrateur successoral ou un dépositaire de la succession soit substitué comme nouvelle partie. Une demande doit être présentée dans l'année suivant le décès, faute de quoi le tribunal radie l'affaire du rôle.
Quel est le délai pour remplacer une personne décédée ?
Un an à compter de la date du décès. Conformément à l'article 42, paragraphe 2, si aucune demande de substitution n'est déposée dans ce délai, le tribunal doit radier l'affaire du rôle.
Guides connexes sur ThaiLawOnline
Citer cette section
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Citation simple
Civil Procedure Code, s. 42 (Thailand) -
Citation académique
Civil Procedure Code (Thailand), s. 42. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-civil-procedure-code/section-42/ (accessed 1 septembre 2026). -
Citation thaïlandaise
ป.วิ.พ. มาตรา 42 -
Lien permanent
https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-civil-procedure-code/section-42/ -
Intégrer sur votre site
<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-civil-procedure-code/section-42/"><p>If a party to a case pending before the court dies before the court gives judgment, the court shall postpone the hearing until an heir of the deceased, an administrator of the deceased's estate, or another person having custody of the estate has entered the…</p><footer>Civil Procedure Code, s. 42 (Thailand): <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-civil-procedure-code/section-42/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.