Section 37 — Continuous hearing until judgment
Statutory text (Thai original)
ให้ศาลดำเนินการนั่งพิจารณาคดีติดต่อกันไปเท่าที่สามารถจะทำได้โดยไม่ต้องเลื่อนจนกว่าจะเสร็จการพิจารณาและพิพากษาคดี
English translation
The court shall conduct the hearing of a case continuously, so far as it is able to do so, without postponement, until the trial is concluded and judgment is given.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 37 states the principle of continuous trial that governs Chapter 4 on court hearings. It requires the court to sit continuously, as far as practicable, until the case is concluded and judgment is rendered, and it sets the baseline against which the postponement provisions in sections 38 to 45 operate as controlled exceptions. In practice it is read together with section 133, under which the court gives judgment on the day the hearing is completed. When a party has no more witnesses to call and the court closes the taking of evidence, the case is treated as concluded and the court may proceed to decide it.
Why this matters in practice
For litigants this means you should be fully prepared on each hearing date: witnesses ready, documents organised, and counsel briefed, because the court is not obliged to stretch the trial over convenient future dates. If your side runs out of evidence or fails to appear when it is your turn, the court can treat the case as concluded and move straight to judgment. Serious civil litigation rewards early preparation, and this is a good reason to engage a lawyer well before the first hearing rather than the week of trial. See our guide on going to court in Thailand.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 5923/2545 (2002)
Sections 37 and 133 require the court to sit continuously until the hearing is concluded and to give judgment on the day proceedings are completed.
The last party to present evidence, the fourth defendant, had no witnesses to call, so the trial court closed the taking of evidence and treated the case as concluded. On the same day, 19 December, the court noted the case as concluded, awaited judgment, and delivered its judgment. The Supreme Court held that proceeding in this way, and rendering judgment on the day the hearing ended, complied with sections 37 and 133.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 3182/2545 (2002)
When the court closes an inquiry because the applicant, though duly notified, fails to appear, the matter is treated as concluded under sections 37 and 133 and the court may dismiss the motion.
The defendant knew of the date fixed to inquire into a motion to proceed as an indigent party on appeal but did not attend. The trial court ordered the inquiry closed and dismissed the motion. The Supreme Court held that this was a proper proceeding under sections 37 and 133: once the inquiry was closed the matter was concluded, so the court could dismiss the defendant's motion.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Frequently asked questions
Does the court have to finish a civil trial in one sitting?
Section 37 requires the court to hear the case continuously so far as it can, until the trial is concluded and judgment is given. It does not force everything into a single day, but it discourages breaking the trial into many separate dates.
What happens if I have no more witnesses to call?
If you have no further witnesses and the court closes the taking of evidence, the case is treated as concluded for your part and the court can proceed to judgment. That is why full preparation before the hearing date matters.