Section 210 — Agreeing to in-court arbitration
Statutory text (Thai original)
บรรดาคดีทั้งปวงซึ่งอยู่ในระหว่างพิจารณาของศาลชั้นต้น คู่ความจะตกลงกันเสนอข้อพิพาทอันเกี่ยวกับประเด็นทั้งปวงหรือแต่ข้อใดข้อหนึ่ง ให้อนุญาโตตุลาการคนเดียวหรือหลายคนเป็นผู้ชี้ขาดก็ได้ โดยยื่นคำขอร่วมกันกล่าวถึงข้อความแห่งข้อตกลงเช่นว่านั้นต่อศาลถ้าศาลเห็นว่าข้อตกลงนั้นไม่ผิดกฎหมาย ให้ศาลอนุญาตตามคำขอนั้น
English translation
In any case pending before a court of first instance, the parties may agree to submit the dispute, whether as to all issues or only any one of them, to a single arbitrator or several arbitrators for a decision, by filing a joint request stating the terms of such agreement to the court. If the court is of the view that the agreement is not unlawful, the court shall grant the request.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 210 opens Chapter 3 on arbitration within pending litigation, a form of in-court arbitration distinct from the general arbitration regime under the Arbitration Act. Its defining requirement is that a case is already pending before a court of first instance; the parties then jointly ask the court to divert some or all of the issues to arbitrators. The court acts as a gatekeeper, granting the request only where the agreement is not unlawful. This chapter, Sections 210 to 222, then governs how the arbitrators are appointed, challenged, and paid, and how their award is filed and enforced through the court.
Why this matters in practice
This route only exists once a lawsuit is already before the court; it is not a way to start arbitration from scratch. Agreeing to in-court arbitration can be attractive where the parties want a specialist to resolve a narrow technical issue while keeping the rest of the case in court. Weigh it against out-of-court arbitration and mediation before committing. Our guide to alternative dispute resolution in Thailand compares the options.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 1925/2522 (1979)
In-court arbitration under Section 210 requires a dispute already pending before the court; an agreement merely to go to court so that the court appoints a person is not the appointment of an in-court arbitrator, because there is no case pending before the court on that matter.
The parties had agreed to have the court appoint a person to fix a land price, but there was no dispute pending before the court on that matter. The Supreme Court held this was not the appointment of an in-court arbitrator under Section 210, so the resulting valuation was not an award that the court had to render judgment upon.
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 parties in a court case switch to arbitration?
Yes. Under Section 210, while a case is pending before a court of first instance, the parties may jointly ask the court to refer all or part of the dispute to arbitrators, and the court grants it if the agreement is lawful.
Does Section 210 apply if there is no case in court yet?
No. Section 210 requires a case already pending before a court of first instance. Without a pending case, an agreement to appoint an arbitrator is not in-court arbitration under this section.