{"id":6593,"date":"2026-09-05T19:09:47","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T12:09:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/glossary\/penalty-clause\/"},"modified":"2026-09-18T19:54:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T12:54:09","slug":"penalty-clause","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/glossary\/penalty-clause\/","title":{"rendered":"Clause p\u00e9nale (Bia Prap) et dommages-int\u00e9r\u00eats forfaitaires : Article 383"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><p>A <strong>clause p\u00e9nale<\/strong> (\u0e40\u0e1a\u0e35\u0e49\u0e22\u0e1b\u0e23\u0e31\u0e1a, <em>bia prap<\/em>, aussi \u00e9crit <em>bia prab<\/em>) is a term by which a debtor promises to pay a fixed sum, or forfeit something, if he fails to perform a contract or performs it badly. Thai law does not distinguish, as English law does, between an enforceable liquidated damages clause and an unenforceable penalty: every such clause is valid, and the court&#8217;s control lies in Section 383 of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/glossary\/thai-civil-and-commercial-code\/\">Code civil et commercial<\/a>, which lets a judge reduce a disproportionately high penalty to a reasonable amount.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rank-math-toc-block\" id=\"rank-math-toc\"><h2>Table des mati\u00e8res<\/h2><nav><ul><li><a href=\"#how-sections-379-to-385-make-penalties-work\">Comment les articles 379 \u00e0 385 font fonctionner les peines<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#practical-points-for-a-foreigner-drafting-or-facing-one\">Points pratiques pour un \u00e9tranger qui en r\u00e9dige un ou y fait face<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#penalty-earnest-and-damages-compared\">Comparaison entre clause p\u00e9nale, arrhes et dommages-int\u00e9r\u00eats<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#frequently-asked-questions\">Foire aux questions<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how-sections-379-to-385-make-penalties-work\">Comment les articles 379 \u00e0 385 font fonctionner les peines<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><p><strong>The mechanism.<\/strong> A penalty is forfeited when the debtor is in default (Section 379). If it was promised for non-performance, the creditor may claim it instead of performance, and if his actual loss is larger he may claim the excess as well (Section 380). If it was promised for improper performance, such as late delivery, the creditor may claim both the penalty and performance, but loses the penalty if he accepts performance without reserving it (Section 381): a client who takes the keys to a late house without a written reservation has waived the delay penalty.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><p><strong>Judicial reduction.<\/strong> Under Section 383 a penalty that is disproportionately high may be reduced by the court to a reasonable amount, taking into account every legitimate interest of the creditor, not only his financial loss. The debtor must ask, and once the penalty has been paid no reduction can be claimed. A penalty attached to an obligation that is itself void falls with it (Section 385). The Unfair Contract Terms Act B.E. 2540 (1997) adds a parallel power to moderate excessive penalties and forfeited deposits in standard form and consumer contracts.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"practical-points-for-a-foreigner-drafting-or-facing-one\">Points pratiques pour un \u00e9tranger qui en r\u00e9dige un ou y fait face<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><p><strong>Construction.<\/strong> A daily penalty for late completion, a small fraction of a percent of the contract price per day and often capped at around 10% of the price, is standard in Thai building contracts, and the guide on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/construction-law-in-thailand\/\">droit de la construction en Tha\u00eflande<\/a> treats it as essential drafting. The mistake is not fixing the completion date and the extension mechanism in writing. Where the owner terminates at will under Section 605, a sum agreed as the price of that termination has been treated by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/glossary\/supreme-court-dika\/\">Cour supr\u00eame<\/a> as agreed compensation, not a penalty, and enforced in full.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><p><strong>Leases and condominiums.<\/strong> Landlords write penalties for early termination and developers write forfeiture of instalments paid; both are subject to Section 383 and to the Unfair Contract Terms Act, and a tenant or buyer who can show the other side&#8217;s real loss was small often recovers most of the money. An employee&#8217;s training bond is enforceable but is routinely cut down by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/glossary\/labour-court\/\">Conseil de prud'hommes<\/a> to the employer&#8217;s actual training cost.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"penalty-earnest-and-damages-compared\">Comparaison entre clause p\u00e9nale, arrhes et dommages-int\u00e9r\u00eats<\/h2>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Point<\/th><th>Qu'est-ce que c'est<\/th><th>Court control<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Penalty (bia prap)<\/td><td>Sum promised for breach, Sections 379 to 385<\/td><td>Reduced if disproportionate, Section 383<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Confiture de tamarinier<\/td><td>Deposit given on signing, Sections 377 and 378<\/td><td>Forfeited on the payer&#8217;s default; excessive forfeiture can be moderated<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Damages (kha sia hai)<\/td><td>Loss actually proved, Section 222<\/td><td>Awarded only as proved<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><p>Un <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/glossary\/earnest-deposit\/\">s\u00e9rieux<\/a> is proof that the contract was made and security for performance; a penalty is a promise of a sum for breach; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/glossary\/damages\/\">d\u00e9g\u00e2ts<\/a> are what the court awards when nothing was agreed. A well drafted contract keeps the agreed amounts realistic enough to survive Section 383.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"frequently-asked-questions\">Foire aux questions<\/h2>\n\n<div id=\"rank-math-faq\" class=\"rank-math-block\">\n<div class=\"rank-math-list\">\n<div id=\"faq-question-1\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question\">Les clauses p\u00e9nales sont-elles ex\u00e9cutoires en Tha\u00eflande ?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer\">\n\n<p>Oui. La loi tha\u00eflandaise consid\u00e8re une clause p\u00e9nale comme valide, mais l'article 383 du Code civil et commercial permet au tribunal de r\u00e9duire une p\u00e9nalit\u00e9 excessivement \u00e9lev\u00e9e \u00e0 un montant raisonnable si le d\u00e9biteur le demande avant de payer. Les contrats de consommation et les contrats d'adh\u00e9sion sont \u00e9galement soumis \u00e0 la loi sur les clauses abusives (Unfair Contract Terms Act), qui permet au tribunal de mod\u00e9rer les p\u00e9nalit\u00e9s excessives et les arrhes confisqu\u00e9es.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-2\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question\">Quelle est la diff\u00e9rence entre une clause p\u00e9nale et des dommages-int\u00e9r\u00eats forfaitaires en Tha\u00eflande ?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer\">\n\n<p>Aucun en droit tha\u00eflandais. Le Code civil et commercial utilise un concept unique, le bia prap, pour toute somme convenue \u00e0 l'avance comme cons\u00e9quence d'une violation, qu'il s'agisse d'une v\u00e9ritable estimation pr\u00e9alable du pr\u00e9judice ou d'un moyen de dissuasion. Toutes sont ex\u00e9cutoires, et toutes peuvent \u00eatre r\u00e9duites en vertu de l'article 383 si elles sont disproportionn\u00e9es.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-3\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question\">Un promoteur immobilier peut-il conserver mon acompte et mes versements si j'annule l'achat d'un condo en Tha\u00eflande ?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer\">\n\n<p>The contract usually says so, but forfeiture of instalments is a penalty subject to Section 383 and, in a consumer contract, to the Unfair Contract Terms Act. A buyer who shows that the developer resold the unit or suffered little loss can ask the court to reduce the forfeited amount, and Supreme Court decisions have cut such forfeitures substantially.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><p>Voir aussi\u00a0: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/glossary\/earnest-deposit\/\">Confiture de tamarinier<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/glossary\/damages\/\">D\u00e9g\u00e2ts<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/glossary\/void-and-voidable\/\">Void and voidable juristic acts<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/construction-law-in-thailand\/\">Construction law in Thailand<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/condo-deposit-forfeiture-in-thailand-dika-1511-2569\/\">Condo deposit forfeiture in Thailand<\/a> ET <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/off-plan-condo-thailand\/\">Off-plan condos in Thailand<\/a>.<\/p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A penalty clause (\u0e40\u0e1a\u0e35\u0e49\u0e22\u0e1b\u0e23\u0e31\u0e1a, bia prap, also written bia prab) is a term by which a debtor promises to pay [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":214,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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ThaiLawOnline","rank_math_description":"Penalty clause in Thailand (bia prap): how liquidated damages work under Sections 379 to 385, when a court cuts an excessive penalty under Section 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