Article 42 — Timing of civil and criminal judgments
Texte légal (original thaï)
ในการพิจารณาคดีแพ่ง ถ้าพยานหลักฐานที่นำสืบแล้วในคดีอาญายังไม่เพียงพอ ศาลจะเรียกพยานหลักฐานมาสืบเพิ่มเติมอีกก็ได้ในกรณีเช่นนั้นศาลจะพิพากษาคดีอาญาไปทีเดียว ส่วนคดีแพ่งจะพิพากษาในภายหลังก็ได้
traduction anglaise
In trying the civil case, if the evidence already adduced in the criminal case is not yet sufficient, the court may summon further evidence to be taken. In such a case, the court may render judgment in the criminal case at once, and render judgment in the civil case afterwards.
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 42 sits in Title 2 of Book 1, on civil actions connected with criminal cases. It gives the trial court two practical tools: it may take additional evidence where the record built for the criminal charge does not settle the civil issues, and it may split the timing of the two judgments, deciding guilt first and quantum of civil liability later. Read together with section 46, the design is that the civil part follows the facts found in the criminal judgment, so deciding the criminal case first is proper rather than a defect.
Pourquoi cela est important en pratique
For a claimant, the takeaway is that a verdict of guilt does not automatically end the money side of your case: the court may keep the civil part open to hear evidence on the value of your loss. Because the criminal finding drives the civil outcome, the strength of the prosecution's evidence matters to your compensation. If you are unsure how a joined civil claim will be timed, it is worth mapping the sequence before trial, and a short session on Ce qu'il faut savoir avant de se présenter devant un tribunal en Thaïlande can help set expectations.
Décisions de la Cour suprême interprétant cette section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 5106/2538 (1995)
Sections 42 and 46 are designed so the civil part follows the facts found in the criminal judgment; deciding the criminal case first, without waiting for the civil result, is lawful.
The Supreme Court held that no law requires the civil part to be tried and decided before the criminal part. Sections 42 and 46 contemplate the civil case waiting for and then following the criminal result, so a trial court that entered the criminal judgment first, without hearing the civil result, acted properly.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 1322/2511 (1968)
In a civil case connected with a criminal one, the court may separate the two, decide the criminal case at once and the civil later; withdrawal of the criminal charge does not extinguish the civil part.
Applying Section 42, the court confirmed its power to sever the criminal and civil parts and to give the criminal judgment at once while deciding the civil claim later. It followed that the plaintiff's withdrawal of the criminal charge did not cause the connected civil claim to lapse.
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 a Thai court decide the criminal case before the civil claim?
Yes. Under Section 42 the court may render the criminal judgment first and rule on the connected civil claim afterwards. No law requires the civil part to be decided first.
If the criminal charge is withdrawn, does the civil claim end too?
Not necessarily. Because the court may separate the two, withdrawing the criminal charge does not automatically extinguish the connected civil claim.