Section 535 — Revocation of gift for ingratitude
Statutory text (Thai original)
การให้อันจะกล่าวต่อไปนี้ ท่านว่าจะถอนคืนเพราะเหตุเนรคุณไม่ได้ คือ(๑) ให้เป็นบำเหน็จสินจ้างโดยแท้(๒) ให้สิ่งที่มีค่าภาระติดพัน(๓) ให้โดยหน้าที่ธรรมจรรยา(๔) ให้ในการสมรส
Verbatim from the Royal Gazette / Office of the Council of State
คำแปลภาษาอังกฤษ
The following gifts are not revocable for ingratitude: (1) Gifts purely remuneratory (2) Gifts encumbered with a charge (3) Gifts made in compliance with a moral duty (4) Gifts made in consideration of marriage
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 535 (the ingratitude grounds are in §531) is the most-litigated exit from a completed gift. Practical pitfalls: (1) only the donor personally can revoke during life — heirs can revoke only if the donee killed the donor or prevented the revocation (§532); (2) the action must be brought within 6 months of knowledge of the ingratitude and 10 years of the act; (3) third-party transferees may be protected if they took for value in good faith. Common context: parents who deeded land to a child who later refuses to support them.
Why this matters in practice
Lawyers: When advising on revocation of a gift for ingratitude, first check whether the gift falls into one of the four exempt categories. A gift of encumbered property (e.g. mortgaged land) is subject to the exception under subsection (2) — the charge must have existed at the time of contracting. Laypeople: Gifts given as a reward for services, in contemplation of marriage, or as a moral obligation cannot be taken back even if the donee later behaves badly.
Legislative history
Part of the original Civil and Commercial Code codification; no major subsequent amendment.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 320/2538 (1995) ★ Landmark
For the encumbered-gift exception under Section 535(2) to apply, the charge on the property must have existed at the time the gift contract was entered into.
A gift of land that was already mortgaged at the time of the gift constitutes a gift of encumbered property under Section 535(2). The charge must have existed at the time the gift agreement was made for the exception to apply.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 10344/2551 (2008)
A gift subject to a condition (such as a right of residence for the donor) may qualify as a gift with a charge under Section 535(2), making it irrevocable for ingratitude.
Parents who gave land to a child with a condition that the parents retained the right to reside during their lifetime — when the child refused to honour that condition — the court considered whether the gift was subject to a charge that would preclude revocation for ingratitude.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.