Section 1367 — Possession — definition
Statutory text (Thai original)
บุคคลใดยึดถือทรัพย์สินโดยเจตนาจะยึดถือเพื่อตน ท่านว่าบุคคลนั้นได้ซึ่งสิทธิครอบครอง
Verbatim from the Royal Gazette / Office of the Council of State
English translation
A person acquires possessory right by holding a property with the intention of holding it for himself
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 1367 separates possession (a factual + intentional state) from ownership (a legal status). A tenant has possession; the landlord has ownership. A thief has possession; the rightful owner has ownership. Possession matters legally because it: (1) is protected against interference by §§1372-1374; (2) ripens into ownership after 10 years (immovables) or 5 years (movables) under the adverse-possession rules of §1382; (3) carries the bona fide-purchaser presumption in §1369. Mere holding without intent to own (e.g., as agent, employee, tenant) is not §1367 possession but "holding for another."
Why this matters in practice
Lawyers: a tenant, licensee, or employee in occupation holds on behalf of the owner and cannot convert that holding into adverse possession without a clear change of intention evidenced externally. Laypersons: simply living on land with the owner's permission does not count as the kind of possession that can ripen into ownership — you need to hold it as if it is yours, openly and without the owner's consent.
Legislative history
Part of the original Civil and Commercial Code codification; no major subsequent amendment.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
-
Supreme Court Judgment No. 12473/2553 (2010)
Delivering land to a buyer with no further claim to it constitutes abandonment of possessory intention under section 1377; possession passes at delivery.
When Defendant 1 sold the land and delivered possession to P and had no further involvement with the land, Defendant 1 was found to have abandoned the intention to possess under section 1377 paragraph 1; possession therefore passed to P at the moment of delivery.
-
Supreme Court Judgment No. 8160/2551 (2008)
Physical delivery of land constitutes a valid transfer of possession under section 1367 even where the transfer of title is incomplete for lack of registration.
Defendant 1 sold NS.3 Kor land to the plaintiff in writing but without registration; Defendant 1 delivered possession to the plaintiff who has held it ever since. Although the transfer of right was incomplete for lack of registration, the physical delivery constituted a valid transfer of possession under section 1367.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.