Article 40: Connected civil case: which court
Statutory text (Thai original)
การฟ้องคดีแพ่งที่เกี่ยวเนื่องกับคดีอาญาจะฟ้องต่อศาลซึ่งพิจารณาคดีอาญาหรือต่อศาลที่มีอำนาจชำระคดีแพ่งก็ได้ การพิจารณาคดีแพ่งต้องเป็นไปตามบทบัญญัติแห่งประมวลกฎหมายวิธีพิจารณาความแพ่ง
English translation
A civil case connected with a criminal case may be filed either with the court trying the criminal case or with the court having jurisdiction over civil cases. The trial of the civil case shall be in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Procedure Code.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified. Always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 40 opens the Title on civil cases connected with criminal cases and fixes two points: choice of court and applicable procedure. The injured party may bring the connected civil claim, typically for restitution or damages, either before the criminal court or before a competent civil court. Whichever forum is chosen, the civil claim is governed by the Civil Procedure Code, including its rules on court fees, evidence, and appeals, and appellate courts apply those rules, for instance to correct public-order errors on interest or costs. This section works with Section 41 on severing the civil part and Section 46 on the binding effect of the criminal judgment.
Why this matters in practice
Deciding where to file a connected civil claim matters: filing it in the criminal court can save time and cost, while a separate civil court may suit a large or complex damages claim. Either way the civil rules apply, so budget for court fees calculated on the amount claimed and follow civil evidence and appeal procedures. To weigh which forum fits your claim, and how the criminal outcome may affect it, read our guide to going to court in Thailand.
Décisions de la Cour suprême interprétant cette section
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Arrêt de la Cour suprême n° 613/2567 (2024)
Section 40 provides that a civil case connected with a criminal case may be brought either in the court trying the criminal case or in the court with civil jurisdiction, and that the civil trial follows the Civil Procedure Code. It is the classifying provision. The binding effect is elsewhere: section 46 requires the court, in giving judgment on the civil part, to take the facts as they appear in the criminal judgment. So where the same plaintiff has already failed in a criminal prosecution on the same facts, the acquittal binds them as a party, the person prosecuted is treated as not having committed the wrongful act for the purposes of the civil part, and a claim against that person's employing agency fails with it. That is a question of public order.
The plaintiff had prosecuted an official under Penal Code sections 84 and 220 for instigating the offence of causing a fire dangerous to persons or to the property of others. That prosecution ended in a final acquittal, the trial court holding that the evidence did not establish the offence. The plaintiff then sued the official's employing agency in tort on the same facts. The Supreme Court held that this was a civil case connected with a criminal case within section 40, that the criminal judgment bound the plaintiff as a party, and that under section 46 the court in the civil part must take the facts as found in the criminal judgment, so the official was treated as not having committed the wrongful act. The plaintiff therefore had no authority to sue the agency under section 5 of the Act on Liability for Wrongful Acts of Officials B.E. 2539, and the point was one of public order.
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Arrêt de la Cour suprême n° 3133/2568 (2025)
Because the trial of a civil case connected with a criminal case follows the Civil Procedure Code under Section 40, the Supreme Court may take up an error of public order in the civil part of its own motion and correct it, under sections 142 (5), 246 and 252 of that Code read with Section 40.
The court of first instance had not stated that the interest rate could be varied by royal decree issued by the Ministry of Finance, and the Court of Appeal Region 5 had not corrected that. The Supreme Court held the omission wrong and took the point up of its own motion as one of public order, correcting the judgment under sections 142 (5), 246 and 252 of the Civil Procedure Code read with Section 40.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Cited in 78 Supreme Court decisions (1966 to 2025)
Décisions de citation sélectionnées
- Décision 613/2567 (2024)
- Décision 78/2565 (2022)
- Décision 4081/2564 (2021)
- Decision 3452/2563 (2020)
- Decision 3273/2563 (2020)
- Decision 1470/2563 (2020)
- Decision 7403/2560 (2017)
- Decision 4292/2560 (2017)
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 91 du Code pénal thaïlandais 47
- Article 78 du Code pénal thaïlandais 36
- Art. 142 du Code pénal thaïlandais 33
- Article 83 du Code pénal thaïlandais 33
- Article 90 du Code pénal thaïlandais 27
- Article 288 du Code pénal thaïlandais 24
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
Où puis-je déposer une plainte civile liée à une affaire pénale ?
Conformément à l'article 40, vous pouvez déposer votre requête soit auprès du tribunal saisi de l'affaire pénale, soit auprès du tribunal compétent en matière civile. La procédure civile est régie par le Code de procédure civile.
Quelle procédure régit l'affaire civile connexe ?
Le Code de procédure civile régit l'affaire civile connexe, y compris les frais de justice, les preuves et les appels, même lorsque la demande est entendue devant le tribunal pénal en même temps que l'affaire pénale.
Qu'est-ce qu'une affaire civile liée à une affaire pénale ?
Il s'agit d'une action civile, telle qu'une action en dommages-intérêts ou en restitution, qui découle des mêmes faits que l'infraction pénale, par exemple une action en réparation du préjudice causé par l'acte illicite du défendeur.
Guides connexes sur ThaiLawOnline
Citer cette section
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Citation simple
Criminal Procedure Code, s. 40 (Thailand) -
Citation académique
Criminal Procedure Code (Thailand), s. 40. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-40/ (accessed 1 septembre 2026). -
Citation thaïlandaise
ป.วิ.อ. มาตรา 40 -
Lien permanent
https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-40/ -
Intégrer sur votre site
<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-40/"><p>A civil case connected with a criminal case may be filed either with the court trying the criminal case or with the court having jurisdiction over civil cases. The trial of the civil case shall be in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Procedure…</p><footer>Criminal Procedure Code, s. 40 (Thailand): <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-40/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.