Section 369 — Right to withhold performance in reciprocal contracts
Statutory text (Thai original)
ในสัญญาต่างตอบแทนนั้น คู่สัญญาฝ่ายหนึ่งจะไม่ยอมชำระหนี้จนกว่าอีกฝ่ายหนึ่งจะชำระหนี้หรือขอปฏิบัติการชำระหนี้ก็ได้ แต่ความข้อนี้ท่านมิให้ใช้บังคับ ถ้าหนี้ของคู่สัญญาอีกฝ่ายหนึ่งยังไม่ถึงกำหนด
Verbatim from the Royal Gazette / Office of the Council of State
English translation
A party to a reciprocal contract may refuse to perform his obligation until the other party performs or tenders performance of his obligation. But this does not apply, if the other party's obligation is not yet due.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 369 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: this is the primary defence for a seller who withholds transfer of title until the buyer pays. For laypersons: in a property sale, you do not have to hand over the title deed until the buyer has paid the full price.
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. 8086/2538 (1995)
A seller in a reciprocal contract may withhold transfer of title until the buyer tenders payment of the purchase price.
Where the buyer failed to tender the deposit as part of the purchase price, the seller was entitled under Section 369 to refuse to transfer title until the buyer offered concurrent performance.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 5093/2541 (1998)
A buyer may refuse concurrent performance and rescind where the seller fails to provide what was promised as a concurrent obligation.
A buyer who attended to take delivery of a condominium unit but found the developer had not installed promised facilities was entitled to refuse to accept transfer and to rescind, the developer having failed to perform its concurrent obligation.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.