Section 268 — Court's discretion and minimum impairment
Statutory text (Thai original)
ในกรณีที่มีคำขอในเหตุฉุกเฉิน ให้ศาลมีอำนาจที่จะใช้ดุลพินิจวินิจฉัยว่าคดีนั้นมีเหตุฉุกเฉินหรือไม่ ส่วนวิธีการที่ศาลจะกำหนดนั้น หากจำเป็นต้องเสื่อมเสียแก่สิทธิของคู่ความในประเด็นแห่งคดี ก็ให้เสื่อมเสียเท่าที่จำเป็นแก่กรณี
English translation
In the case of an emergency application, the court has the power to exercise its discretion in deciding whether the case is one of emergency. As for the measure the court prescribes, if it must impair the rights of the parties on the merits of the case, it shall impair them only so far as necessary in the circumstances.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 268 supplies two guardrails for the emergency track under Sections 266 and 267. The first is discretionary: whether a case truly qualifies as an emergency is left to the court's judgment, reinforcing that the label alone does not compel expedited relief. The second is a proportionality principle: because emergency measures are granted quickly and often without full argument, any encroachment on the parties' substantive rights, the very matters still to be decided on the merits, must be kept to the minimum the situation requires. Together these limits temper the speed of Chapter 2 with restraint, ensuring interim relief does not prejudge or overreach the final decision.
Why this matters in practice
For an applicant, labelling a request as urgent does not guarantee it will be treated as an emergency; the court weighs that for itself, so the motion must genuinely demonstrate urgency. For a defendant, this section is a useful argument to keep an emergency order narrow: even where some measure is justified, it should not bite into the disputed rights any more than the situation truly demands. Framing the requested or opposed measure to fit this necessity standard often decides how far the interim relief goes.
Frequently asked questions
Who decides whether a case is really an emergency?
Under Section 268 the court has discretion to decide whether a case is one of emergency. Calling an application urgent does not by itself make it an emergency; the court assesses the circumstances.
How far can an emergency measure affect the parties' rights?
Under Section 268, if an emergency measure must impair the parties' rights on the merits of the case, it may do so only so far as necessary in the circumstances, so interim relief should not overreach the final decision.