Section 223 — Appeals go to the Court of Appeal
Statutory text (Thai original)
ภายใต้บังคับบทบัญญัติมาตรา ๑๓๘, ๑๖๘, ๑๘๘ และ ๒๒๒ และในลักษณะนี้ คำพิพากษาหรือคำสั่งของศาลชั้นต้นนั้น ให้ยื่นอุทธรณ์ต่อศาลอุทธรณ์ เว้นแต่คำพิพากษาหรือคำสั่งนั้นประมวลกฎหมายนี้หรือกฎหมายอื่นจะได้บัญญัติว่าให้เป็นที่สุด
English translation
Subject to the provisions of Sections 138, 168, 188 and 222, and to this Title, a judgment or order of the court of first instance shall be appealed to the Court of Appeal, unless this Code or another law provides that such judgment or order shall be final.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 223 opens Title 1 on appeals and states the general right of appeal to the Court of Appeal against first-instance judgments and orders. It is expressly made subject to Sections 138 (judgments by compromise), 168, 188 (non-contentious cases) and 222, and to the rest of this Title, which contains the key limits such as the capital-sum bar on factual appeals in Section 224 and the interlocutory-order rule in Section 226. The closing clause preserves finality where the Code or another statute so provides, for example arbitration awards, which are challengeable only as that special law allows. In practice the section is the gateway that identifies both what is appealable and the correct destination court.
Why this matters in practice
The first questions on any appeal are whether the decision is appealable at all and to which court it goes; Section 223 answers both but must be read with the finality rules and the limits later in this Title. A common trap is trying to appeal something the law makes final, or appealing an order that is only interlocutory, which wastes the deadline. Before filing, confirm your route with a lawyer; see our guide to going to court in Thailand.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 3427/2562 (2019)
Where the court of first instance orders a case struck out on the ground that the plaintiff lacks authority to sue, the plaintiff may appeal that order to the Court of Appeal under Section 223, and the Court of Appeal has jurisdiction to hear it.
The Supreme Court held that where the court of first instance ordered the case struck out because the plaintiff had no authority to sue, the plaintiff could appeal that order to the Court of Appeal (Region 2) under Section 223, which therefore had jurisdiction to hear the matter. The defendant's argument to the contrary failed.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 1564/2561 (2018)
The right to appeal under Section 223 requires an order of the court of first instance to appeal against. A party who bypasses the required step of asking the trial court to revoke a procedure has no such order and cannot appeal.
The plaintiff appealed to set aside the reading of a Supreme Court judgment without first moving the court of first instance to revoke the allegedly irregular procedure under Section 27. The Supreme Court held that because no first-instance order existed, the plaintiff had no order to appeal under Section 223, so the appeal was improperly brought and the Court of Appeal was right to dismiss it.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 12335/2557 (2014)
A person whom the court of first instance has held directly liable, even an execution officer, is aggrieved by that decision and has the right to appeal under Section 223.
Although an execution officer is ordinarily not a party or interested person, the court of first instance had held the officer (the objector) directly liable to the plaintiff. The Supreme Court held that the officer therefore had the right to appeal under Section 223, treating the person against whom liability is directly imposed as entitled to appellate recourse.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Frequently asked questions
Which court hears an appeal from a Thai court of first instance?
Under Section 223, a judgment or order of the court of first instance is appealed to the Court of Appeal, unless this Code or another law provides that the decision is final.
Can every first-instance decision be appealed?
No. Section 223 is subject to Sections 138, 168, 188 and 222 and the limits in this Title, and it does not apply where the Code or another law makes the judgment or order final.