Article 46 — Civil judgment bound by criminal facts
Texte légal (original thaï)
ในการพิพากษาคดีส่วนแพ่ง ศาลจำต้องถือข้อเท็จจริงตามที่ปรากฏในคำพิพากษาคดีส่วนอาญา
traduction anglaise
In adjudicating the civil part, the court must take the facts as they appear in the judgment of the criminal part.
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 46 is the binding-facts rule for civil actions connected with criminal cases: the court deciding the civil part must adopt the facts settled in the criminal judgment rather than re-try them. It gives the criminal finding preclusive effect on the civil side, which is why sequencing matters (see sections 42 and 44/2, letting the criminal case be decided first). The rule applies only where the two are genuinely connected and to the facts actually determined; the legal characterisation of civil liability still follows civil law under section 47, so a court may, for example, treat a matter as breach of contract on facts drawn from the criminal judgment. A civil judgment that ignores the binding criminal facts is improper and may be challenged.
Pourquoi cela est important en pratique
This rule is why the criminal case often decides your civil case in substance: once the criminal court has found the key facts, the civil court is stuck with them. That cuts both ways, a strong criminal finding helps your damages claim, while an acquittal on the facts can undercut it, though not always, because civil liability is judged by civil-law standards. If a civil judgment against you rests on facts that contradict a later criminal judgment, that may be a ground to challenge it, so keep both files aligned and take advice on Ce qu'il faut savoir avant de se présenter devant un tribunal en Thaïlande.
Décisions de la Cour suprême interprétant cette section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 3664/2568 (2025)
Section 46 binds the civil part to the criminal facts, but the legal outcome of civil liability still follows civil law, so facts drawn from the criminal case may be characterised as breach of contract.
Though Section 46 required the civil part to follow the criminal facts, the Court found on those facts that the injured person had paid 135,000 baht in full and the defendant failed to deliver the goods on time, making the defendant the party in breach; the civil judgment therefore followed contract-liability law.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 2630/2567 (2024)
Where a civil claim depends on the criminal wrong charged, it is a civil case connected with a criminal one and the court must follow the criminal judgment's facts under Section 46.
The plaintiff's civil claim rested on the defendant's alleged offences against officials and forgery, making it a civil case connected with a criminal one. The Court held that under Section 46 it had to take the facts as found in the criminal judgment when deciding the civil part.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 788/2567 (2024)
A civil judgment that does not follow the facts settled in a later criminal judgment is improper under Civil Procedure Code Section 27, read with Section 46.
A party had won a civil judgment for over 4.48 million baht through false testimony, and was later convicted of perjury in that case. The Court held the civil judgment was unlawful because it had not followed the facts in the criminal judgment as required by Section 46, making it an improper judgment under Civil Procedure Code Section 27.
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
Does the civil court have to follow the criminal judgment's facts?
Yes. Under Section 46, in a connected civil case the court must take the facts as found in the criminal judgment and cannot re-decide them.
Can a civil judgment be attacked for ignoring the criminal facts?
Yes. A civil judgment that fails to follow the binding facts from the criminal judgment can be treated as improper and challenged on that basis.