Section 116 — Preliminary questions and mode of examination
Statutory text (Thai original)
ในเบื้องต้นให้พยานตอบคำถามเรื่องนาม อายุ ตำแหน่ง หรืออาชีพ ภูมิลำเนาและความเกี่ยวพันกับคู่ความแล้วศาลอาจปฏิบัติอย่างใดอย่างหนึ่งต่อไปนี้
(๑) ศาลเป็นผู้ถามพยานเอง กล่าวคือ แจ้งให้พยานทราบประเด็นและข้อเท็จจริง ซึ่งต้องการสืบแล้วให้พยานเบิกความในข้อนั้น ๆ โดยวิธีเล่าเรื่องตามลำพังหรือโดยวิธีตอบคำถามของศาล หรือ
(๒) ให้คู่ความซักถาม และถามค้านพยานไปทีเดียว ดังที่บัญญัติไว้ในมาตราต่อไปนี้
English translation
At the outset, the witness shall answer questions as to name, age, position or occupation, domicile, and connection with the parties. The court may then proceed in one of the following ways:
(1) the court examines the witness itself, that is, it informs the witness of the issues and facts it wishes to prove and then has the witness testify on those points, whether by narrating alone or by answering the court's questions; or
(2) it allows the parties to examine and cross-examine the witness directly, as provided in the following sections.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 116 opens the actual taking of a witness's evidence in Chapter 2. The preliminary questions establish the witness's identity and their relationship to the parties, information that bears on how the court will weigh the testimony. The section then offers two modes: examination led by the court, or the adversarial method in which the parties question the witness directly under Sections 117 and 118. In ordinary civil trials the party-led method predominates, while the court-led method appears in specialised procedures. Because it is a general rule of the Code, its application in specialised courts, such as labour courts, can be displaced where that court's own statute lays down a different method of examination.
Why this matters in practice
The connection a witness has with a party, disclosed in these opening questions, is fair game and often shapes how much weight the court gives the evidence, so be ready to explain any relationship and to test the other side's witnesses on theirs. Note too that specialised courts such as labour courts may use their own examination rules rather than the general method here. If your dispute is heading to a specialised court, an online consultation with a Thai lawyer can confirm which procedure applies before you prepare your witnesses.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 2572/2541 (1998)
Because the statute establishing the labour courts lays down its own method for examining witnesses, the general provisions on examination in the Civil Procedure Code, including Sections 89, 116(2) and 117, cannot be applied by analogy to the taking of evidence in a labour case.
The Supreme Court held that the Act establishing the labour courts specifically provides that parties may examine a witness only with the labour court's leave, so the general Civil Procedure Code rules on examination, including Sections 89, 116(2) and 117, do not apply by analogy in labour cases.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 2347/2519 (1976)
Before testifying a witness takes the oath and answers the court's preliminary questions, including their name, under Sections 112 and 116; a discrepancy in the name signed is not by itself enough to reject the testimony where nothing shows the witness is a different person.
The court had recorded the witness's name as one form while the witness signed with another. The Supreme Court noted that under Sections 112 and 116 a witness takes the oath and answers the preliminary question as to name, and held that the difference in the signed name alone, absent evidence the witness was a different person, was not enough to disregard the testimony.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Frequently asked questions
What is a witness asked at the start of testimony in a Thai court?
Under Section 116 the witness first answers preliminary questions on name, age, position or occupation, domicile, and connection with the parties, before the substantive examination begins.
Does the judge or the lawyers question the witness in a Thai civil trial?
Section 116 allows either. The court may examine the witness itself, or it may let the parties examine and cross-examine the witness directly. In ordinary civil trials the party-led method is normal.