Chapitre 1 : Dispositions générales

Dans ce code :

“Land” means the land surface everywhere, and includes mountains, hills, streams, ponds, canals, swamps, marshes, waterways, lakes, islands and the sea coast.

“Rights in land” means ownership, and includes possessory rights.

“Pre-emption certificate” means the document showing authorisation of temporary occupation of land.

“Certificate of use” means the document from the competent official certifying that the land has already been put to use.

“Land particulars certificate” means the paper showing the inquiry for the purpose of issuing a title deed, and includes the plot identification slip.

“Title deed” means the document showing ownership of the land, and includes a land title deed with map, a pre-emption title deed, and a pre-emption certificate stamped “ALREADY PUT TO USE”.

“Survey” means the survey and recording of boundaries, or the computation of area, in order to determine the location of the boundary lines or the area of the land.

“Land trading” — repealed by the Land Code Amendment Act (No.12), B.E. 2551 (2008).

“Public body” means (1) central administration, provincial administration or local administration; (2) other agencies of the State which are not State enterprises.

“Committee” means the Land Allocation Committee.

“Competent official” means the official acting under this Code, and any other official appointed by the Minister to act under this Code.

“Director-General” means the Director-General of the Department of Lands.

“Minister” means the Minister having charge under the Act Promulgating the Land Code and under this Code.

Unofficial ThaiLawOnline translation of the current Thai text.

The land the ownership of which is not vested in any person

shall be deemed to be the property of the State.

Unofficial translation, Office of the Council of State, as amended to Act No.13, B.E. 2556 (2013).

A person shall have ownership of land in the following cases:

(1) where the ownership was acquired in accordance with the law prior to

the effective date of this Code or where a title deed is acquired in accordance with the

provisions of this Code;

(2) where the ownership is acquired in accordance with the law on land

allocation for livelihood or other laws.

Unofficial translation, Office of the Council of State, as amended to Act No.13, B.E. 2556 (2013).

Subject to the provisions of Section 6, any person who has

acquired land possessory right prior to the date this Code comes into force shall continue to

have such possessory right. This protection shall also extend to the transferee of the land.

Unofficial translation, Office of the Council of State, as amended to Act No.13, B.E. 2556 (2013).

As from the date this Announcement of the National

Executive Council comes into force, transfer of ownership of or possessory right to land with

a title deed or certificate of utilization shall be made in writing and registered with the

competent officer.

Unofficial translation, Office of the Council of State, as amended to Act No.13, B.E. 2556 (2013).

Any person wishing to surrender his right to land to the State

shall file a surrender application with the competent officer under Section 71.

Unofficial translation, Office of the Council of State, as amended to Act No.13, B.E. 2556 (2013).

As from the date this Announcement of the National Executive

Council comes into force, where any person having right to land under a title deed or

certificate of utilization neglects to make use of that land or leaves it lying waste for a

period longer than the following:

(1) land under a title deed, longer than ten consecutive years;

(2) land under a certificate of utilization, longer than five consecutive

dated 29 February B.E. 2515 (1972).

years,

it shall be deemed that he has the intention to abandon his right to land for

the part of the land which is not utilized or is left lying waste. When the Director-General

has filed a petition with the court, and the court has ordered cancellation of the land right

document of such land, such land shall be vested in the State for further action in

accordance with this Code.

Unofficial translation, Office of the Council of State, as amended to Act No.13, B.E. 2556 (2013).

(Abrogé)

All the lands which are either a public domain or state

property shall, in the absence of laws providing otherwise, be under the care of the Director-

General, who shall have the power and duty to take any appropriate measures for its

protection. Such power and duty may be delegated by the Minister to another public body.

The land which is part of the public domain of the State and used in

common by the public or used specifically in the interest of the State or the land which is

reserved for the use of any public body may be withdrawn from such status or transferred

for other uses, or allocated to the people, in the following cases:

(1) For land used in common by the public, if a public body, state

enterprise or private party has provided land for common use by the public instead, its

withdrawal from such status or its transfer shall be made in the form of an Act. If the public

has ceased to use the land or the status of that land has changed from being the land used

in common by the public and the ownership of that land is not vested in any person in

accordance with the provisions of other laws, its withdrawal shall be made in the form of a

Royal Decree.

(2) For land used specifically in the interest of the State or land reserved

for the use of any public body, if that public body ceases to use that land or no longer

needs to reserve it for its own use, when there is a Royal Decree withdrawing that land from

such status, the Council of Ministers may assign the public body in charge to make use of or

seek benefits from the land. However, if the land is to be transferred to a private party, it

shall be done in the form of an Act, and if the land is to be allocated to the people in

accordance with this Code or other laws, it shall be done in the form of a Royal Decree.

The Act or the Royal Decree under paragraph two shall have a map showing

the boundaries of the land as an annex to such Act or Royal Decree.

Unofficial translation, Office of the Council of State, as amended to Act No.13, B.E. 2556 (2013).

With regard to land belonging to the State to which no

person has possessory right or land used in common by the public which has been

withdrawn from such status in accordance with Section 8 (1), the Minister shall have the

power to put such land on registration for use by a public body in the government service in

accordance with the rules and procedure prescribed in the ministerial regulations.

Prior to putting such land on registration in accordance with paragraph one,

survey for the purpose of making map shall be carried out and the Provincial Governor of

the locality shall announce the registration to the public for their information for the period

of thirty days. The announcement shall be posted in a conspicuous place at the land

office, district office or sub-district office, kamnan’s office, and on the land itself.

The Minister shall publish the notification of the registration in accordance

with paragraph one in the Government Gazette and there shall be a map annexed to the

notification.

Unofficial translation, Office of the Council of State, as amended to Act No.13, B.E. 2556 (2013).

With regard to the land which is part of the public

domain of the State for use in common by the public or for use specifically in the interest

of the State, the Director-General may issue a public land deed evidencing the boundaries

of such land.

Forms, rules and procedure for issuance of the public land deed shall be in

accordance with the ministerial regulations.

The boundaries of any parcel of land under paragraph one which has not

yet obtained a public land deed shall be in accordance with the government’s record.

Unofficial translation, Office of the Council of State, as amended to Act No.13, B.E. 2556 (2013).

Subject to the laws on mining and forestry, persons without

right to possession of the land belonging to the State or without permission from the

competent officer shall be prohibited from:

(1) entering, occupying or taking possession of such land, including cutting

down trees for construction purposes or burning forest thereon;

(2) destroying or causing deterioration, by any means, of the condition of

the land, rock, gravel or sand within the areas reserved by the Minister’s announcement

published in the Government Gazette;

(3) doing anything which imperils the resources in the land.

Unofficial translation, Office of the Council of State, as amended to Act No.13, B.E. 2556 (2013).

The person with the permission under Section 9 shall

pay an annual consideration to the municipality, sub-district administration organization,

Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, Pattaya City, or other local administration organization

established under law, of the locality where the permitted land is located, except

provincial administration organization, according to the procedure and at the rates

prescribed by the relevant by-law, but not to exceed the rates set out in the schedule

annexed hereto.

A local administration organization in a provincial area shall share the

consideration received under paragraph one to the provincial administration organization at

the rate of forty percent of the consideration received, within thirty days from the date of

receipt of payment thereof, so that it be an income of the provincial administration

organization, and the remaining consideration shall become an income of the local

administration organization where the permitted land is located. In case the said land is not

located in the provincial administration organization area, the entire consideration received

under paragraph one shall become an income of the said local administration organization.

Unofficial translation, Office of the Council of State, as amended to Act No.13, B.E. 2556 (2013).

With regard to State land which is free of any person’s

possessory right and is not a public domain of the State in common use by the people, the

Director-General shall have the power to arrange to seek benefits therefrom. Such

arrangements may include its utilization, purchase, sale, exchange, lease and hire-purchase.

Rules and procedure for such arrangements shall be prescribed in the

ministerial regulations. As for sale, exchange and hire-purchase, the authorization of the

Minister must be obtained.

In making arrangements for seeking benefits from land under this Section,

consideration shall be given to the need to reserve the land for future generations.

Unofficial translation, Office of the Council of State, as amended to Act No.13, B.E. 2556 (2013).

In making arrangements for seeking benefits from State land in

accordance with the provisions of the preceding Section, the Minister may assign to another

public body the power to make such arrangements in the interest of the State or of a

certain locality, in accordance with the rules and procedure prescribed in the ministerial

regulations.

Unofficial translation, Office of the Council of State, as amended to Act No.13, B.E. 2556 (2013).

The Minister may grant concession over, give, or make

available for utilization for a limited period of time, State land which is free of any person’s

possessory right, in accordance with the rules and procedure prescribed in the ministerial

regulations.

The provisions of this Section shall not affect the law on mining and

forestry.

Unofficial translation, Office of the Council of State, as amended to Act No.13, B.E. 2556 (2013).

For the purpose of carrying out the execution of the provisions

of this Code, the Minister shall have the power to establish provincial land offices.

If it is necessary to establish more than one land office in any province, the

Minister shall have the power to establish land branch offices to be under the provincial

land office.

The establishment of a provincial land office and land branch office shall be

announced in the Government Gazette.

Unofficial translation, Office of the Council of State, as amended to Act No.13, B.E. 2556 (2013).