Section 4 — Proper court for filing a claim
Statutory text (Thai original)
เว้นแต่จะมีบทบัญญัติเป็นอย่างอื่น
(๑) คำฟ้องให้เสนอต่อศาลที่จำเลยมีภูมิลำเนาอยู่ในเขตศาล หรือต่อศาลที่มูลคดีเกิดขึ้นในเขตศาลไม่ว่าจำเลยจะมีภูมิลำเนาอยู่ในราชอาณาจักรหรือไม่
(๒) คำร้องขอ ให้เสนอต่อศาลที่มูลคดีเกิดขึ้นในเขตศาล หรือต่อศาลที่ผู้ร้องมีภูมิลำเนาอยู่ในเขตศาล
English translation
Except where otherwise provided:
(1) a plaint shall be submitted to the court within whose territorial jurisdiction the defendant has domicile, or to the court within whose territorial jurisdiction the cause of action arose, whether or not the defendant has domicile in the Kingdom;
(2) a petition shall be submitted to the court within whose territorial jurisdiction the cause of action arose, or to the court within whose territorial jurisdiction the petitioner has domicile.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 4 is the default territorial venue rule of the Code and the anchor for the more specific provisions that follow in Chapter 1. It gives a plaintiff a choice between the court of the defendant's domicile and the court where the cause of action arose, and it applies whether or not the defendant is domiciled in the Kingdom. The key interpretive question is the meaning of cause of action, which the courts read as the origin of the infringement of right that gives the plaintiff standing, not merely the place of any related event. The rule opens with except where otherwise provided, so it yields to the special venues in Sections 4 bis to 4 sex and to the overriding rules in Section 7.
Why this matters in practice
Because a plaintiff can usually choose between the defendant's home court and the court where the cause arose, filing decisions often turn on convenience, witnesses, and where enforcement will be easier. Getting the cause of action location right is essential: if it is not clearly within the chosen court's area and the defendant is domiciled elsewhere, the plaint can be rejected. This matters a great deal in debt and contract disputes, where you may prefer a court near the defendant's assets. See our debt collection service for how venue choices affect enforcement.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 1824/2567 (2024)
Under Section 4(1) the cause of action means the source of the infringement of right that gives the plaintiff standing; in a sale-of-goods dispute it arises where the ordering and dealing between the parties took place.
The question was whether the plaintiff could sue defendant 2 at the trial court. Applying Section 4(1), the court explained that cause of action means the origin of the dispute over a right, and for this sale contract the place where the goods were ordered from the plaintiff was relevant to fixing the proper court.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 3412/2565 (2022)
By resolution of the Grand Chamber, the cause of action under Section 4(1) is the origin of the infringement of right; for a subrogated insurer suing in tort, both the place of the wrongful act and the place where compensation was paid are places where the cause of action arose.
An insurer that had paid compensation and become subrogated sued the wrongdoer's insurer in tort. The Grand Chamber held that the place of the tort and the place where compensation was paid, both within the trial court's area, were places where the cause of action arose for Section 4(1).
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I file a civil lawsuit in Thailand?
Under Section 4(1) you may file either in the court where the defendant is domiciled or in the court where the cause of action arose. The plaintiff chooses between these, subject to any special venue rule for the type of claim.
What does cause of action mean for choosing a court?
The courts treat cause of action as the origin of the infringement of right that gives the plaintiff standing to sue. For a contract dispute, for example, it is tied to where the dealing that created the dispute took place.