Section 368 — Contract interpretation: good faith and ordinary usage
Statutory text (Thai original)
สัญญานั้นท่านให้ตีความไปตามความประสงค์ในทางสุจริต โดยพิเคราะห์ถึงปกติประเพณีด้วย
Verbatim from the Royal Gazette / Office of the Council of State
English translation
Contracts shall be interpreted according to the requirements of good faith, ordinary usage being taken into consideration.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 368 is part of Book 2 (Obligations) 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: apply Section 368 together with Section 171 (true intent over literal text) when contract language is ambiguous. For laypersons: if a contract term is unclear, courts will look at what both parties genuinely intended and at normal commercial practice, not just the exact words.
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. 13098/2555 (2012)
Contract interpretation under Section 368 requires reading the agreement as a whole, with reference to true intent (Section 171) and commercial practice.
In interpreting an overdraft agreement's interest rate provisions across multiple renewals, the court applied Section 368 together with Section 171, finding that the true intent of progressively higher rates correlated with higher credit limits governed the dispute.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 679/2547 (2004)
The title of a contract does not dictate its legal effect; the court looks to the genuine intention of the parties.
The name given to a contract does not conclusively determine its nature; the court interpreted a contract titled 'sale of master tape' as transferring only the physical tape, not copyright, based on the parties' true intent under Sections 368 and 171.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Frequently asked questions
Can a court rewrite ambiguous contract terms under Section 368?
No. Section 368 allows the court to interpret ambiguous terms in light of good faith and ordinary usage, but it does not permit the court to substitute new terms for what the parties agreed. The court finds the true intent, it does not create a new agreement.