Reviewed by ThaiLawOnline, a licensed Thai law firm practising in Thailand since 2006. Thai lawyer of record: Wichuda Atthamethakon, LL.M., Thai Bar Licence 3149/2556.
Last updated on September 5, 2026
The Supreme Court of Thailand (ศาลฎีกา, San Dika, also Dika Court or Supreme Court of Justice) is the highest court in the Courts of Justice, the ordinary court system that hears civil and criminal cases. Its judgments, known as Dika decisions, are cited by a serial number and the Buddhist year and are the closest thing Thai law has to case law. A foreigner meets the Court at the end of a long dispute, or more often through the decisions that lawyers quote to predict how a lease, a will or a property structure will be treated.
Table of Contents
Position in the court hierarchy
Three tiers. Cases begin in the courts of first instance (civil, criminal, provincial and kwaeng courts, plus specialised courts for labour, tax, bankruptcy, intellectual property and family matters), go on appeal to the Court of Appeal or a specialised appeal court, and end at the Supreme Court in Bangkok. The Court sits in panels of at least three judges and has specialised divisions mirroring the specialised courts, as well as the Criminal Division for Persons Holding Political Positions.
The Supreme Court is separate from the Constitutional Court, which rules on the constitutionality of statutes, and from the Supreme Administrative Court, which hears disputes against state agencies. A foreigner challenging an immigration or Land Office decision is usually in the administrative courts; one suing a developer or defending a criminal charge is in the Courts of Justice.
Getting a case to the Supreme Court
Access is restricted. Since the 2015 amendment of the Civil Procedure Code, a civil appeal to the Supreme Court requires the Court’s permission, granted only where the question is of general importance, the lower courts conflict, or the appeal raises a point that needs a ruling of the Supreme Court. The petition, called a dika, must be filed within one month of the Court of Appeal judgment, together with the court fee of 2% of the amount in dispute, capped at 200,000 baht. In criminal cases the Criminal Procedure Code bars appeals on questions of fact where the lower courts agree and the sentence is light, so most criminal dikas turn on points of law.
Time. A civil case that runs through all three tiers commonly takes four to six years, which is why settlement or arbitration is often preferred.
Dika decisions: citation and weight
Citation. A decision is identified by a running number, a slash and the Buddhist year (subtract 543 for the Western year), often prefixed “Dika” or “Supreme Court Decision”. Decisions are published by the Court and collected by the Thai Bar, and this site’s Supreme Court decisions library presents selected judgments in Thai and English with annotations.
| Feature | Thailand | Common law countries |
|---|---|---|
| Binding force | Persuasive; lower courts follow settled lines but are not bound | Binding precedent |
| Source of law | Codes and statutes; decisions interpret them | Case law is itself a source |
| Citation form | Number/Buddhist year | Party names and law report |
Thailand is a civil law system, so a Dika decision interprets the Code rather than creating law, and a later panel may depart from it. In practice lawyers and judges treat a consistent line of decisions as settled, which is why a good opinion on a usufruct, a 30-year lease or a nominee arrangement will rest on what the Supreme Court has actually held.
Frequently asked questions
Are Supreme Court decisions binding in Thailand?
Not formally. Thailand is a civil law jurisdiction and a Dika decision binds only the parties to that case. Lower courts nevertheless follow consistent Supreme Court rulings closely, and the Court rarely departs from its own settled interpretation, so the decisions are treated as highly persuasive authority.
How long does it take to reach the Supreme Court in Thailand?
A civil case usually takes one to two years at first instance, a year or more on appeal, and one to three years at the Supreme Court, so four to six years in total is common. The petition to the Supreme Court must be filed within one month of the Court of Appeal judgment, and permission is needed in civil cases.
What does Dika mean in Thai law?
Dika (ฎีกา) is the Thai word for the petition to the Supreme Court and, by extension, for the Court itself (San Dika) and its decisions. When a lawyer refers to a Dika followed by a number and year, he or she means a specific Supreme Court judgment identified by its serial number and the Buddhist year in which it was decided.
See also: Court of Appeal, courts of first instance, court fees, and our guides to the Thai legal system, the Supreme Court decisions library and the sections Supreme Court judgments cite most.
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