Section 193/30 — General prescription period — ten years
Statutory text (Thai original)
อายุความนั้น ถ้าประมวลกฎหมายนี้หรือกฎหมายอื่นมิได้บัญญัติไว้โดยเฉพาะ ให้มีกำหนดสิบปี
Verbatim from the Royal Gazette / Office of the Council of State
คำแปลภาษาอังกฤษ
The period of prescription, when not otherwise specifically provided in this Code or in other laws, is ten years.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 193/30 is the residual rule. Always check whether a specific prescription period applies first — e.g. §448 (tort, one year), §671 (deposit, six months), §882 (insurance, two years). The clock starts running when the right could first be exercised (§193/12).
Why this matters in practice
For lawyers: section 193/30 is the fall-back — apply it only after confirming no specific provision covers the claim. Key applications include breach of employment contract (no special period), credit facility claims (distinct from instalment loan claims under section 193/33(2)), and general contractual claims not caught by shorter periods. For laypeople: if you have a civil claim and are unsure of the deadline, the safe assumption is ten years from when the right arose — but shorter periods are common, so always verify.
Legislative history
Part of the original Civil & Commercial Code codification; no major subsequent amendment. The ten-year general period is supplemented by numerous shorter periods in Book II (obligations, generally two to five years) and in other statutes. Where a claim has both a tort and a contract dimension, different periods may apply concurrently.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 13283/2558 (2015)
Claims under a credit facility lacking a specific limitation period are governed by the ten-year general prescription of section 193/30, distinct from instalment-loan claims which attract the five-year period under section 193/33(2).
A creditor held claims under both a credit facility agreement and a loan agreement. The Court held that claims under the credit facility were not specifically provided for in any statute and therefore attracted the ten-year prescription under section 193/30, while claims under the loan agreement constituted instalments of principal and fell under the five-year period in section 193/33(2).
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 13963/2558 (2015)
Where a breach of employment contract claim has no specific limitation period, the ten-year prescription in section 193/30 applies even if the concurrent tort claim is already time-barred.
An employer sued a former employee for dishonest conduct both in tort and for breach of the employment contract. The Court held that while the tort claim had become time-barred (more than one year having passed since the employer knew of the act and the wrongdoer), the contract claim remained alive because breach of an employment contract has no specific prescription period and therefore falls under the ten-year general period of section 193/30.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know whether my civil claim has a ten-year deadline or a shorter one?
Start by checking whether the CCC or any special law sets a specific period for your type of claim. Common shorter periods include two years for most tort claims, five years for instalment obligations and certain commercial claims, and other periods in special legislation. Only if no specific period applies does the ten-year residual period under section 193/30 govern.