Section 5 — Choice of court for connected claims
Statutory text (Thai original)
คำฟ้องหรือคำร้องขอซึ่งอาจเสนอต่อศาลได้สองศาลหรือกว่านั้น ไม่ว่าจะเป็นเพราะภูมิลำเนาของบุคคลก็ดี เพราะที่ตั้งของทรัพย์สินก็ดี เพราะสถานที่ที่เกิดมูลคดีก็ดี หรือเพราะมีข้อหาหลายข้อก็ดี ถ้ามูลความแห่งคดีเกี่ยวข้องกัน โจทก์หรือผู้ร้องจะเสนอคำฟ้องหรือคำร้องขอต่อศาลใดศาลหนึ่งเช่นว่านั้นก็ได้
English translation
A plaint or petition that may be submitted to two or more courts, whether because of the domicile of a person, the location of property, the place where the cause of action arose, or because there are several claims, may, if the causes of action are connected, be submitted by the plaintiff or petitioner to any one of such courts.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 5 is the concentration rule of Chapter 1: where more than one court is competent under Sections 4 to 4 sex, whether because of domicile, the location of property, the place of the cause of action, or multiple claims, the plaintiff may pick one court for connected causes. Its practical effect is to let a claimant sue several defendants who are jointly liable, or bring related claims, in a single forum rather than splitting the dispute. The key limit is that the causes of action must be connected, so unrelated claims cannot be bundled to manufacture venue. It is commonly applied together with Section 4(1) and with counterclaims connected to the original claim.
Why this matters in practice
This rule can save a claimant real time and cost by keeping connected claims and joint defendants in one court, instead of running parallel cases. It is especially useful when defendants live in different districts but share liability: filing where one of them is domiciled can be enough for the whole case. Choosing the most convenient competent court is a genuine strategic decision. If you have multiple debtors or related claims, our debt collection service can help plan the filing.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 527/2561 (2018)
Where a plaintiff sues several defendants who are jointly liable and one defendant is domiciled within the court's area at the time of filing, the connected causes let the plaintiff file the whole case in that court under Section 4(1) together with Section 5.
The plaintiff sued two defendants to be jointly liable, and defendant 2 was domiciled in the trial court's area at filing. The Supreme Court held the plaintiff could properly file there under Section 4(1) with Section 5, and reversed the lower courts' refusal to accept the plaint.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 7782/2560 (2017)
Where the cause of a counterclaim is connected to the original claim, Section 5 lets it be filed in the same court, even if that counterclaim, here in tort, is not otherwise of the type that court ordinarily handles.
The dispute arose from a divorce and property-division agreement. The court held that although the tort claim was not a family matter, its cause was connected to the original claim and to the counterclaim, so under Section 5 the defendant could bring the tort counterclaim in the same court.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 56/2558 (2015)
Where an adult defendant is sued as a joint debtor together with a minor defendant, the causes are connected under Section 5, so the plaintiff may file the claim against the adult in the same juvenile and family court.
Defendant 1 was a minor and defendant 2 an adult sued to repay jointly. The court held the causes were connected under Section 5, so the plaintiff could file against the adult defendant in the juvenile and family court along with the minor.
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 I sue several defendants in different districts in one court?
Often yes. Under Section 5, if the causes of action are connected, for example several defendants jointly liable, you may file in any one of the competent courts, such as the court where one defendant is domiciled.
Does Section 5 let me combine any claims together?
No. The causes of action must be connected. Section 5 allows connected claims to be brought in one competent court, but unrelated claims cannot be bundled just to create venue.