Section 1623
Statutory text (Thai original)
ทรัพย์สินของพระภิกษุที่ได้มาในระหว่างเวลาที่อยู่ในสมณเพศนั้น เมื่อพระภิกษุนั้นถึงแก่มรณภาพให้ตกเป็นสมบัติของวัดที่เป็นภูมิลำเนาของพระภิกษุนั้น เว้นไว้แต่พระภิกษุนั้นจะได้จำหน่ายไปในระหว่างชีวิตหรือโดยพินัยกรรม
Verbatim from the Royal Gazette / Office of the Council of State
คำแปลภาษาอังกฤษ
Any property acquired by a Buddhist monk during his monkhood shall become, upon his death, property of the monastery which is his domicile, unless he has disposed of it during his life or by will. feedback (/form/1-samuiforsale-contact-form.html?tmpl=component) /
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 1623 is part of Book 6 (Succession) of the Thai Civil and Commercial Code. This entry is awaiting firm-authored commentary; the statutory text above is verbatim from the Office of the Council of State (OCS Krisdika) Thai source, with the English translation from the FAO/UN FAOLEX repository. Always rely on the Thai original for legal proceedings.
Why this matters in practice
For lawyers: distinguish between property the monk acquired before ordination (which is personal estate devolving to statutory heirs) and property acquired during monkhood (which passes to the monastery). A monk may dispose of monkhood property by will or inter vivos act. The monastery is not a statutory heir under §1629 and therefore cannot petition for an estate administrator as a heir, but may do so as an interested person. For clients: family members of a deceased monk cannot inherit property he acquired after ordination unless he left a will specifically disposing of it.
Legislative history
Part of the original Civil and Commercial Code codification; no major subsequent amendment. This provision reflects the tradition of monastic property flowing to the institutional home of the monk, and interacts with the Sangha Act B.E. 2505 which restricts alienation of temple property.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 1816/2542 (1999) ★ Landmark
Property acquired during monkhood passes to the monastery under §1623 as a statutory operation distinct from intestate succession; the monastery is not a statutory heir under §1629.
A monk acquired the disputed land during his monkhood. On his death the land passed to the monastery under §1623. The court held that the monastery is not a statutory heir under §1629; accordingly the monastery could not petition for an estate administrator as a heir, and its acquisition of the land under §1623 is a separate legal mechanism from statutory succession.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 1316/2544 (2001)
Land inherited by a monk is not property acquired during monkhood and may be contracted away; but if registration is not completed before the monk's death, the land passes to the monastery under §1623.
A monk inherited land from his mother (which he had not acquired during monkhood). He then contracted to sell his share to the plaintiff. He later divided the land but died before registering the transfer. The court held that inherited land is not land acquired during monkhood under §1623; such land may be contracted away by the monk. However, because the monk died before completing registration, the land became monastery property under §1623 at death.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 2741/2541 (1998)
Monastery property acquired under §1623 can be alienated only by Act of Parliament under the Sangha Act; no purchaser, even a bona fide one, acquires title from an unauthorised transfer.
The disputed land was property acquired by a monk during monkhood and he made no will. The court held it passed by law to the monastery and, under the Sangha Act B.E. 2505 §34, temple property can be transferred only by Act of Parliament; therefore even a bona fide purchaser from an unauthorised transferor could not obtain title.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.