Section 185 — Taking evidence on the issues
Statutory text (Thai original)
ในวันนัดสืบพยาน เมื่อศาลเห็นสมควรหรือเมื่อคู่ความฝ่ายใดฝ่ายหนึ่งมีคำขอ ศาลจะอ่านให้คู่ความฟังซึ่งคำฟ้อง คำให้การ และคำให้การแก้ฟ้องแย้ง ถ้าหากมี หรือรายงานพิสดารแห่งการชี้สองสถาน แล้วแต่กรณี และคำร้องขอแก้ไขเพิ่มเติม (ที่ได้ยื่นต่อศาลและส่งไปให้แก่คู่ความแล้วโดยชอบ) ก็ได้ภายใต้บังคับแห่งบทบัญญัติสามมาตราต่อไปนี้ ให้ศาลสืบพยานตามประเด็นในข้อพิพาทตามบทบัญญัติแห่งประมวลกฎหมายนี้ว่าด้วยพยานหลักฐาน และฟังคำแถลงการณ์ด้วยวาจาของคู่ความทั้งปวง
English translation
On the day of taking evidence, when the court sees fit or when either party makes a request, the court may read to the parties the complaint, the answer, and the answer in reply to the counterclaim, if any, or the detailed report of the settlement of issues, as the case may be, and any motion for amendment that has been duly filed with the court and served on the parties. Subject to the provisions of the following three Sections, the court shall take evidence according to the issues in dispute, in accordance with the provisions of this Code on evidence, and shall hear the oral closing statements of all the parties.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 185 governs the conduct of the evidence day. The court may, on request or of its own view, read out the pleadings, the report of the settled issues, and any duly served amendment, to focus the trial. Its central rule, in the second paragraph, is that evidence is taken only on the issues in dispute as framed under Section 183: facts outside those issues are off limits, and a party has no right to adduce evidence on them. This ties the trial tightly to the settlement of issues and is a frequent ground for challenging a judgment that ranges beyond, or falls short of, the framed issues, often together with Section 142 on the scope of judgment. The three following sections it refers to qualify how evidence is taken.
Why this matters in practice
Everything at trial funnels through the framed issues. You cannot lead evidence on a fact that was never fixed as an issue, and the court cannot base its judgment on one, so getting the issues right at the settlement stage is what wins or loses the evidence day. Prepare your witnesses and documents issue by issue. Where a foreign party or witness is involved, arrange for a qualified court interpreter early, since testimony is taken orally on these issues.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 10026/2560 (2017)
Where the defendant's answer does not clearly admit or deny an allegation, no issue in dispute arises on that point under Section 177 paragraph two, and taking evidence and deciding it anyway breaches Section 185 paragraph two read with Section 142.
Because the defendants' answer did not clearly admit or deny the plaintiff's standing, there was no issue on standing, so the trial court's decision on it was improper. The appellate court set aside the judgment and ordered the case retried on the proper issues.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 2141/2544 (2001)
A fact that falls outside the framed issues in dispute cannot be proved, and the parties have no right to adduce evidence on it, under Section 185 paragraph two. The court cannot cure this on the basis that both sides fully contested the point.
Whether the loss arose from a peril of the sea was outside the framed issues, so evidence on it was inadmissible under Section 185 paragraph two, and the fact that both sides had litigated the point did not give the court power to consider it.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 4501/2532 (1989)
The court must take evidence on the issues framed from the complaint and the answer under Section 185 paragraph two. A statement recorded after the plaintiff's evidence and not admitted by the plaintiff does not create a new issue, and no evidence may be led on it.
The issues were whether the loan agreement was forged and whether the complaint was vague. A later note that the defendant had repaid, recorded after the plaintiff's evidence and not admitted, added no issue, so the defendant could not lead evidence of repayment.
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 party lead evidence on a fact outside the framed issues?
No. Under the second paragraph of Section 185 evidence is taken only on the issues in dispute. A fact outside those issues cannot be proved and a party has no right to adduce evidence on it.
What is read out on the evidence day?
When the court sees fit or a party asks, it may read the complaint, answer, reply to a counterclaim, the report of the settled issues, and any duly served amendment, before taking evidence.
How does this affect the judgment?
Because evidence is confined to the framed issues, a judgment that decides a matter outside them, or ignores a framed issue, can be challenged, often together with Section 142 on the scope of judgment.