Article 159: Pleading a Recidivism Sentence Increase
Statutory text (Thai original)
ถ้าจำเลยเคยต้องคำพิพากษาให้ลงโทษเพราะได้กระทำความผิดมาแล้ว เมื่อโจทก์ต้องการให้เพิ่มโทษจำเลยฐานไม่เข็ดหลาบ ให้กล่าวมาในฟ้องถ้ามิได้ขอเพิ่มโทษมาในฟ้อง ก่อนมีคำพิพากษาศาลชั้นต้น โจทก์จะยื่นคำร้องขอเพิ่มเติมฟ้อง เมื่อศาลเห็นสมควรจะอนุญาตก็ได้
English translation
If the defendant has previously been sentenced by a judgment for having committed an offence, and the plaintiff wishes to have the defendant's punishment increased on the ground of failure to reform, this shall be stated in the charge. If the increase of punishment was not requested in the charge, the plaintiff may, before the judgment of the court of first instance, file a motion to amend the charge, and the court may grant it when it thinks fit.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified. Always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
This provision governs how a request to enhance punishment for recidivism must be raised. The enhancement is not automatic: the plaintiff must plead it in the charge, or, if omitted, seek to add it by amendment before the first-instance judgment, subject to the court's discretion. It links substantive recidivism enhancement under the Penal Code, such as Sections 92 and 93, with the procedural duty to give the defendant notice of the aggravating claim. Courts have read the pleading requirement flexibly where the plaintiff has already requested enhancement under a related law, treating that as sufficient to raise the recidivism ground.
Why this matters in practice
For a defendant with a prior record, this section is a notice safeguard: the prosecution cannot spring a heavier sentence on you at the end of trial without having raised recidivism in the charge or by timely amendment. For the prosecution, the deadline is firm, the request must come before the trial court's judgment. If you have a prior conviction and are facing new charges, check early whether an enhancement has been pleaded, because it directly affects your sentencing exposure.
Décisions de la Cour suprême interprétant cette section
-
Arrêt de la Cour suprême n° 33/2568 (2025)
A request to increase punishment on the ground of failure to reform must comply with Section 159: it must be stated in the charge, or, if not, added by a motion to amend before the first-instance judgment, which the court may allow when it thinks fit.
In a methamphetamine case the plaintiff had not pleaded a recidivism enhancement in the charge. The Court set out the Section 159 rule that the enhancement must be pleaded, or added by amendment before the trial court's judgment, in examining whether the appellate court's increase of the sentence was lawful.
-
Arrêt de la Cour suprême n° 1856/2567 (2024)
Where the plaintiff has already requested an increase of punishment under a special statute, this is deemed an intention to seek the recidivism enhancement pleaded under Section 159 paragraph one, and the court may then increase the punishment by one third under the general Penal Code provision.
The plaintiff had requested enhancement under the former narcotics law provision. The Court held this amounted to pleading the recidivism ground under Section 159 paragraph one, so the court could increase the punishment by one third under the general Penal Code enhancement, and raised the issue on its own as a matter of public order.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Cited in 12 Supreme Court decisions (1965 to 2025)
Décisions de citation sélectionnées
- Décision 33/2568 (2025)
- Decision 6522/2560 (2017)
- Decision 6406/2549 (2006)
- Decision 12670/2556 (2013)
- Decision 3686/2566 (2023)
- Decision 3374/2566 (2023)
- Decision 2610/2566 (2023)
- Decision 764/2508 (1965)
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 78 du Code pénal thaïlandais 12
- Thai Penal Code s. 92 11
- Article 91 du Code pénal thaïlandais 10
- Article 29 du Code pénal thaïlandais 8
- Article 30 du Code pénal thaïlandais 8
- Thai Penal Code s. 3 7
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
Un tribunal thaïlandais peut-il automatiquement alourdir la peine d'un récidiviste ?
Non. En vertu de l'article 159, le ministère public doit indiquer dans l'acte d'accusation la demande d'aggravation de la peine pour défaut de réforme, ou l'ajouter par voie d'amendement avant le jugement du tribunal de première instance.
Quel est le délai pour ajouter une circonstance aggravante de récidive à une accusation ?
Le demandeur doit déposer la requête en modification de l'accusation avant que le tribunal de première instance ne rende son jugement, et le tribunal peut l'autoriser lorsqu'il le juge opportun.
Guides connexes sur ThaiLawOnline
Citer cette section
-
Citation simple
Criminal Procedure Code, s. 159 (Thailand) -
Citation académique
Criminal Procedure Code (Thailand), s. 159. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-159/ (accessed 1 septembre 2026). -
Citation thaïlandaise
ป.วิ.อ. มาตรา 159 -
Lien permanent
https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-159/ -
Intégrer sur votre site
<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-159/"><p>If the defendant has previously been sentenced by a judgment for having committed an offence, and the plaintiff wishes to have the defendant's punishment increased on the ground of failure to reform, this shall be stated in the charge. If the increase of punishment was…</p><footer>Criminal Procedure Code, s. 159 (Thailand): <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-159/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.