Section 151 — Refund of court fees
Statutory text (Thai original)
ในกรณีที่ศาลมีคำสั่งไม่รับคำฟ้องหรือในกรณีที่มีการอุทธรณ์ หรือฎีกาหรือมีคำขอให้พิจารณาใหม่ ถ้าศาลไม่รับอุทธรณ์หรือฎีกาหรือคำขอให้พิจารณาใหม่ หรือศาลอุทธรณ์หรือศาลฎีกามีคำสั่งให้ยกอุทธรณ์หรือฎีกาโดยยังมิได้วินิจฉัยประเด็นแห่งอุทธรณ์หรือฎีกานั้น ให้ศาลมีคำสั่งให้คืนค่าขึ้นศาลทั้งหมด
เมื่อได้มีการถอนคำฟ้อง หรือเมื่อศาลได้ตัดสินให้ยกคำฟ้องโดยไม่ตัดสิทธิโจทก์ที่จะฟ้องคดีใหม่ หรือเมื่อคดีนั้นได้เสร็จเด็ดขาดลงโดยสัญญาหรือการประนีประนอมยอมความหรือการพิพากษาตามคำชี้ขาดของอนุญาโตตุลาการ ให้ศาลมีอำนาจที่จะสั่งคืนค่าขึ้นศาลทั้งหมด หรือบางส่วนแก่คู่ความซึ่งได้เสียไว้ได้ตามที่เห็นสมควร
ในกรณีที่มีการทิ้งฟ้องหรือศาลสั่งจำหน่ายคดีในกรณีอื่น ให้ศาลมีอำนาจที่จะสั่งคืนค่าขึ้นศาลบางส่วนได้ตามที่เห็นสมควร
ถ้าศาลอุทธรณ์หรือศาลฎีกามีคำสั่งให้ส่งสำนวนความคืนไปยังศาลล่างเพื่อตัดสินใหม่หรือเพื่อพิจารณาใหม่ทั้งหมดหรือแต่บางส่วนตามที่บัญญัติไว้ในมาตรา ๒๔๓ ศาลอุทธรณ์หรือศาลฎีกามีอำนาจที่จะยกเว้นมิให้คู่ความต้องเสียค่าธรรมเนียมศาลในการดำเนินกระบวนพิจารณาใหม่หรือในการที่จะยื่นอุทธรณ์หรือฎีกาคัดค้านคำพิพากษาใหม่ของศาลล่างได้ตามที่เห็นสมควร
English translation
Where the court makes an order refusing a complaint, or where an appeal, a Dika petition, or an application for a new trial is made and the court refuses the appeal, the Dika petition, or the application for a new trial, or where the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court orders the appeal or the Dika petition dismissed without having decided the issues raised in that appeal or Dika petition, the court shall order the whole of the court fee to be refunded.
When the complaint has been withdrawn, or when the court has dismissed the complaint without prejudice to the plaintiff's right to bring a new action, or when the case has been finally settled by contract, by compromise, or by judgment upon an arbitral award, the court has the power to order the whole or part of the court fee paid by the party to be refunded as it thinks fit.
Where the complaint is deemed abandoned or the court dismisses the case in any other instance, the court has the power to order part of the court fee refunded as it thinks fit.
If the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court orders the case file returned to the lower court for a fresh decision or for a fresh trial in whole or in part as prescribed in Section 243, the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court has the power to exempt the parties from paying court fees for conducting the fresh proceedings, or for filing an appeal or a Dika petition contesting the lower court's new judgment, as it thinks fit.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 151 governs the refund and exemption of court fees when a case does not proceed to a decision on the merits. Paragraph one makes refund of the whole fee mandatory where a complaint is refused, or where an appeal or Dika petition is refused or dismissed without the higher court deciding the issues raised. Paragraphs two and three give the court discretion to refund all or part of the fee on withdrawal, dismissal without prejudice, settlement, arbitral award, abandonment, or other dismissal. Paragraph four ties into Section 243 by letting the appellate court exempt parties from further fees when a case is remanded for a fresh trial. Courts have treated the paragraph-one refund as compulsory, correcting lower courts that instead let the fee lie where it fell.
Why this matters in practice
If your appeal or Dika petition is thrown out on a technicality before the higher court rules on the merits, you are entitled to your court fee back in full, so check the final order and ask the court to refund it. On a negotiated settlement or a withdrawal you can often recover part of the fee, which is worth factoring into any decision to settle. Because the paragraph-one refund is mandatory, a lower court that orders costs to lie where they fell can be corrected on appeal.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 677/2563 (2020)
Where an appeal is disposed of without the appellate court deciding the issues raised, the court must dismiss the appeal and refund the whole of the appeal court fee under Section 151 paragraph one.
Because the proceedings had to restart at the trial court under Section 243(2), the appeal was disposed of without the Court of Appeal Region 8 deciding the plaintiff's issues. The court held that the appeal court fee had to be refunded in full under Section 151 paragraph one, the appeal being treated as having lapsed.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 4854/2562 (2019)
When the Court of Appeal sets aside the trial court's judgment for fresh proceedings and dismisses the appeal without deciding its issues, it must refund the whole appeal court fee under Section 151 paragraph one, and cannot instead let the appeal costs lie where they fell.
The Court of Appeal set aside the trial judgment for fresh proceedings and dismissed the defendant's appeal without deciding its issues, but ordered the appeal costs to lie where they fell. The Supreme Court held this wrong and ordered the whole appeal court fee refunded to the defendant under Section 151 paragraph one.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 1619/2562 (2019)
A refund of court fees under Section 151 paragraph one is available only where the case was disposed of without a decision on the merits; it does not apply once the court has decided the issues of the case.
The defendant argued that no refund of court fees was possible because the trial court had already decided the issues of the case. Quoting the text of Section 151 paragraph one, the Supreme Court examined whether the Court of Appeal Region 1 had set the trial judgment aside, since the refund turns on the absence of a merits decision.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Frequently asked questions
Do I get my court fee back if my appeal is dismissed?
Yes, if the higher court dismisses or refuses your appeal or Dika petition without deciding the issues raised, Section 151 paragraph one requires the whole court fee to be refunded.
Can I recover court fees if I settle or withdraw my case?
Possibly. On withdrawal, dismissal without prejudice, or a settlement or arbitral award, Section 151 gives the court discretion to refund all or part of the court fee as it thinks fit.
What happens to court fees when a case is sent back for a new trial?
Where the appellate court remands the case under Section 243, Section 151 paragraph four lets it exempt the parties from paying further court fees for the fresh proceedings or a new appeal.