Article 143 — Prosecutor's decision on the file
Texte légal (original thaï)
เมื่อได้รับความเห็นและสำนวนจากพนักงานสอบสวนดังกล่าวในมาตราก่อน ให้พนักงานอัยการปฏิบัติดังต่อไปนี้
(๑) ในกรณีที่มีความเห็นควรสั่งไม่ฟ้อง ให้ออกคำสั่งไม่ฟ้อง แต่ถ้าไม่เห็นชอบด้วย ก็ให้สั่งฟ้องและแจ้งให้พนักงานสอบสวนส่งผู้ต้องหามาเพื่อฟ้องต่อไป
(๒) ในกรณีมีความเห็นควรสั่งฟ้อง ให้ออกคำสั่งฟ้องและฟ้องผู้ต้องหาต่อศาล ถ้าไม่เห็นชอบด้วย ก็ให้สั่งไม่ฟ้อง
ในกรณีหนึ่งกรณีใดข้างต้น พนักงานอัยการมีอำนาจ
(ก) สั่งตามที่เห็นควร ให้พนักงานสอบสวนดำเนินการสอบสวนเพิ่มเติมหรือส่งพยานคนใดมาให้ซักถามเพื่อสั่งต่อไป
(ข) วินิจฉัยว่าควรปล่อยผู้ต้องหา ปล่อยชั่วคราว ควบคุมไว้ หรือขอให้ศาลขัง แล้วแต่กรณี และจัดการหรือสั่งการให้เป็นไปตามนั้น
ในคดีฆาตกรรม ซึ่งผู้ตายถูกเจ้าพนักงานซึ่งอ้างว่าปฏิบัติราชการตามหน้าที่ฆ่าตาย หรือตายในระหว่างอยู่ในความควบคุมของเจ้าพนักงานซึ่งอ้างว่าปฏิบัติราชการตามหน้าที่ อธิบดีกรมอัยการหรือผู้รักษาการแทนเท่านั้นมีอำนาจออกคำสั่งฟ้องหรือไม่ฟ้อง
traduction anglaise
Upon receiving the opinion and file from the inquiry official as mentioned in the preceding section, the public prosecutor shall proceed as follows:
(1) In the case of an opinion proposing non-prosecution, issue a non-prosecution order; but if he does not concur, order prosecution and notify the inquiry official to send the accused for prosecution.
(2) In the case of an opinion proposing prosecution, issue a prosecution order and prosecute the accused before the court; if he does not concur, order non-prosecution.
In either of the above cases, the public prosecutor has the power:
(a) to order, as he sees fit, the inquiry official to conduct additional investigation or to send any witness for questioning in order to decide further;
(b) to determine whether the accused should be released, provisionally released, kept in custody, or detained by order of the court, as the case may be, and to arrange or order accordingly.
In a homicide case in which the deceased was killed by an official claiming to act in the course of duty, or died while in the custody of an official claiming to act in the course of duty, only the Director-General of the Public Prosecution Department or the person acting in his place has the power to issue a prosecution or non-prosecution order.
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
This section vests the charging decision in the public prosecutor and confirms the prosecutor is not bound by the inquiry official's recommendation. Its lettered powers, additional investigation under (a) and custody determinations under (b), are the practical levers the prosecutor uses to complete a file before deciding. The final paragraph carves out custodial and duty-related deaths for the Director-General alone, a safeguard tying into the special inquest and homicide provisions elsewhere in this Book. Additional investigation ordered under (a) must relate to the offence already investigated, or it will not validly support the eventual charge.
Pourquoi cela est important en pratique
This is the moment the case is decided in fact: the prosecutor, not the police, chooses whether you are charged, and can order more investigation or change your custody status. If the death of a family member happened in custody or at the hands of an official, note that only the Director-General may decide, which affects how and where you press the matter. Understanding the prosecutor's powers here is central to preparing for what to know before you go to court in Thailand.
Décisions de la Cour suprême interprétant cette section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 3462/2567 (2024)
Additional investigation ordered under section 143 paragraph two (a) must relate to the offence already investigated; an unrelated additional investigation is unlawful and cannot support an amended charge, leaving the prosecution without power to prosecute.
The additional investigation concerned matters not connected to the predicate offence underlying the money-laundering charge originally investigated, so it was unlawful under section 143 paragraph two (a) read with the anti-corruption procedure law; the amended charge had not passed lawful investigation, and the prosecution had no power to prosecute it.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 50/2563 (2020)
An acting provincial chief prosecutor has authority, as the prosecutor in charge of the file, to give a prosecute or non-prosecute opinion and prosecute before the court under section 143.
The officer appointed to act as provincial chief prosecutor of Surin had authority to manage cases as head prosecutor of the locality, to prosecute the accused before the Court of First Instance, and to give the prosecute or non-prosecute opinion as prosecutor in charge of the file under section 143.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 3100/2532 (1989)
A claim that a death occurred by an official acting in the course of duty or in custody, invoking section 143 paragraph three, must be raised at the accusation stage so the file can be submitted to the proper authority.
The court held that a claim of being an official who killed the deceased in the course of duty or of a death in custody under section 143 paragraph three must be raised while the person is being accused, so the inquiry official can submit the file to the prosecutor under section 142 or to the Director-General under section 143 paragraph three; where not raised, ordinary investigation and prosecution were valid.
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
Can the prosecutor disagree with the police recommendation?
Yes. Under section 143 the public prosecutor may order prosecution even when the inquiry official recommended non-prosecution, and may order non-prosecution even when prosecution was recommended.
Who decides prosecution when someone dies in police custody?
In a homicide where the deceased was killed by, or died in the custody of, an official claiming to act on duty, section 143 gives only the Director-General of the Public Prosecution Department, or the person acting in his place, power to order prosecution or non-prosecution.
Can the prosecutor order more investigation?
Yes, under section 143(a). But the additional investigation must relate to the offence already investigated; unrelated additional investigation will not support the charge.