Section 50 — Signing court reports and documents
Statutory text (Thai original)
ถ้าคู่ความฝ่ายใด หรือบุคคลใดจะต้องลงลายมือชื่อในรายงานใดเพื่อแสดงรับรู้รายงานนั้น หรือจะต้องลงลายมือชื่อในเอกสารใดเพื่อรับรองการอ่านหรือการส่งเอกสารเช่นว่านั้น
(๑) การลงลายมือ พิมพ์นิ้วมือ แกงได หรือเครื่องหมายอย่างอื่นที่ได้ทำต่อหน้าศาลนั้น ไม่จำต้องมีลายมือชื่อของพยานสองคนรับรอง
(๒) ถ้าคู่ความหรือบุคคลที่จะต้องลงลายมือชื่อในรายงานดังกล่าวแล้ว ลงลายมือชื่อไม่ได้ หรือไม่ยอมลงลายมือชื่อ ให้ศาลทำรายงานจดแจ้งเหตุที่ไม่มีลายมือชื่อเช่นนั้นไว้แทนการลงลายมือชื่อ
English translation
If any party or any person is required to sign any report in order to acknowledge that report, or is required to sign any document in order to certify the reading or the service of such a document: (1) the signature, thumbprint, mark, or other sign made before the court need not be certified by the signatures of two witnesses; (2) if the party or person required to sign such a report is unable to sign or refuses to sign, the court shall make a report recording the reason for the absence of the signature in lieu of the signature.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 50 provides two practical rules on signatures for court reports and documents that a party or person must sign to acknowledge or certify them. First, a signature, thumbprint, mark, or other sign made before the court does not require certification by two witnesses, simplifying the usual formality for signatures given in the court's presence. Second, if the person cannot sign or refuses to sign, the court records the reason for the absent signature in lieu of the signature, so the record remains valid despite the missing signature. It complements the recording and evidentiary provisions in sections 48 and 49: a record can still stand where a party will not sign, provided the court documents why. The courts have read subsection (2) broadly, treating a party who states their position and then leaves without waiting for the record to be read and signed as having refused to sign.
Why this matters in practice
Refusing to sign a court record does not erase it: the court simply notes why you did not sign, and the record still stands, so walking out or declining to sign is not a way to disown what happened at the hearing. Likewise, leaving before the record is read and signed can be treated as a refusal to sign. If you disagree with how a record reads, the right move is to ask for corrections under section 49, not to refuse to sign. Signatures, thumbprints, or marks made in front of the court are valid without extra witnesses. When in doubt about signing anything in court, get quick advice from a Thai lawyer.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 6958/2557 (2014)
Under section 50(2), a party need not remain to hear the record read out; where parties state their position and then leave without waiting to sign, that is treated as a refusal to sign, and the court records the reason in lieu of the signature.
One issue was whether a hearing record of 20 September 2010, which the three defendants never signed, could be relied on as showing they jointly bought pigs from the plaintiff and owed 514,000 baht. The Supreme Court held that section 50(2) does not require the party who must sign to remain to hear the record read out. Where the three defendants stated their position to the court and then left the courtroom without waiting to hear the record read and to sign, that counted as a refusal to sign within the meaning of section 50.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 4753/2565 (2022)
Where a party does not sign a hearing record but the court records the reason for the absent signature under section 50(2), the party is nonetheless taken to have notice of the matter recorded, such as that funds were deposited at court for collection.
The trial court noted in its hearing report of 3 August 2016 that the defendant had deposited money at court and that the plaintiff should contact the court to collect it. Although the plaintiff did not sign the report, the court recorded the reason for the missing signature under section 50(2), applied through section 15 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The plaintiff also later referred to the deposit in an appeal, so the plaintiff was taken to have known of the deposit and to have had the right to collect it from that date.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if I refuse to sign the court's hearing record?
Under section 50(2), if you cannot or refuse to sign, the court records the reason for the missing signature in lieu of the signature. The record still stands; refusing to sign does not cancel it.
Do signatures made in court need two witnesses?
No. Under section 50(1), a signature, thumbprint, mark, or other sign made before the court does not need to be certified by two witnesses.