Section 54: Inspecting and copying documents in the case file
Statutory text (Thai original)
คู่ความก็ดี หรือพยานในส่วนที่เกี่ยวกับคำให้การของตนในคดีนั้นก็ดี หรือบุคคลภายนอกผู้มีส่วนได้เสียโดยชอบหรือมีเหตุผลอันสมควรก็ดี อาจร้องขออนุญาตต่อศาลไม่ว่าเวลาใดในระหว่าง หรือภายหลังการพิจารณาเพื่อตรวจเอกสารทั้งหมดหรือแต่บางฉบับในสำนวนเรื่องนั้น หรือขอคัดสำเนา หรือขอให้จ่าศาลคัดสำเนาและรับรอง แต่ทั้งนี้
(๑) ห้ามมิให้อนุญาตเช่นว่านั้นแก่บุคคลอื่นนอกจากคู่ความหรือพยานในคดีที่พิจารณาโดยไม่เปิดเผย หรือในคดีที่ศาลได้มีคำสั่งห้ามการตรวจหรือคัดสำเนาเอกสารในสำนวนทั้งหมดหรือบางฉบับเพื่อรักษาความสงบเรียบร้อยหรือผลประโยชน์ทั่วไปของประชาชน ถึงแม้ผู้ขอจะเป็นคู่ความหรือพยานก็ห้ามมิให้อนุญาตดุจกัน แต่ทั้งนี้ ไม่ตัดสิทธิของคู่ความในการที่จะตรวจหรือคัดสำเนาคำพิพากษาหรือคำสั่งในคดีนั้น หรือในการที่จะขอสำเนาอันรับรองถูกต้อง
(๒) ห้ามมิให้อนุญาตให้คู่ความคัดถ้อยคำพยานฝ่ายตนจนกว่าจะได้สืบพยานฝ่ายตนเสร็จสิ้นแล้ว เว้นแต่จะมีพฤติการณ์พิเศษที่จะให้อนุญาตเมื่อได้ให้อนุญาตแล้ว การตรวจ หรือการคัดสำเนานั้น ให้ผู้ขอหรือบุคคลซึ่งได้รับการตั้งแต่งจากผู้ขอโดยชอบเป็นผู้คัดตามเวลาและเงื่อนไขซึ่งจ่าศาลจะได้กำหนดให้เพื่อความสะดวกของศาลหรือเพื่อความปลอดภัยของเอกสารนั้นห้ามมิให้คัดสำเนาคำพิพากษาหรือคำสั่ง ก่อนที่ได้อ่านคำพิพากษาหรือคำสั่งนั้นและก่อนที่ได้ลงทะเบียนในสารบบคำพิพากษาในกรณีที่ศาลได้ทำคำอธิบายเพิ่มเติมกลัดไว้กับรายงานแห่งคำสั่งหรือคำพิพากษาซึ่งกระทำด้วยวาจาตามบทบัญญัติมาตรา ๑๔๑ คำอธิบายเพิ่มเติมเช่นว่านั้นคู่ความจะขอตรวจหรือขอคัดสำเนา หรือขอสำเนาเสมือนเป็นส่วนหนึ่งแห่งคำสั่งหรือคำพิพากษาก็ได้สำเนาที่รับรองนั้น ให้จ่าศาลเป็นผู้รับรองโดยเรียกค่าธรรมเนียมตามที่กำหนดไว้ในอัตราท้ายประมวลกฎหมายนี้ ในกรณีที่ผู้ขอตรวจเอกสารหรือขอคัดสำเนาด้วยตนเองไม่ต้องเรียกค่าธรรมเนียม
English translation
A party, or a witness as regards that witness's own testimony in the case, or an outside person having a legitimate interest or reasonable grounds, may apply to the court for leave, at any time during or after the trial, to inspect all or some of the documents in that case file, to make copies of them, or to have the clerk of the court make and certify copies, subject to the following:
(1) such leave shall not be granted to any person other than a party or a witness in a case tried in camera, or in a case in which the court has ordered that the inspection or copying of all or some of the documents in the file be prohibited in order to preserve public order or the general interest of the public; in such a case leave is likewise prohibited even where the applicant is a party or a witness, but this does not affect the right of a party to inspect or copy the judgment or order in that case, or to apply for a duly certified copy of it;
(2) a party shall not be granted leave to copy the testimony of that party's own witnesses until the examination of that party's witnesses has been completed, unless there are special circumstances.
Once leave has been granted, the inspection or copying shall be carried out by the applicant, or by a person duly appointed by the applicant, at such time and on such conditions as the clerk of the court may fix for the convenience of the court or for the safety of the documents.
No copy of a judgment or order shall be made before that judgment or order has been read and before it has been entered in the register of judgments.
Where the court has attached an additional explanation to the record of an order or judgment delivered orally under the provisions of Section 141, a party may apply to inspect that additional explanation, to copy it, or to obtain a copy of it, as though it formed part of the order or judgment.
A certified copy shall be certified by the clerk of the court, who shall charge the fee prescribed in the schedule of rates annexed to this Code. Where the applicant inspects the documents or makes the copies personally, no fee shall be charged.
ThaiLawOnline translation, written from the Thai original and verified
Firm annotation
Section 54 is the access provision for court records and it defines three classes of applicant: a party, a witness but only as regards that witness's own testimony, and an outside person having a legitimate interest or reasonable grounds. The third class is what allows a non-party with a genuine stake to reach the file, and it is the limb most often argued. Limb (1) creates the confidentiality exception, covering both cases tried in camera and cases where the court has restricted the file to preserve public order or the general interest of the public; the exception binds even parties and witnesses, but it is expressly subject to a saving that preserves a party's right to the judgment or order and to a certified copy of it. Limb (2) is a trial fairness rule rather than a confidentiality rule: it stops a party copying the testimony of that party's own witnesses until their examination is complete, which prevents later witnesses being coached to match earlier ones. The remaining paragraphs deal with mechanics: the clerk fixes time and conditions, no copy of a judgment may be made before it is read and registered, an oral judgment's additional explanation under Section 141 is treated as part of the judgment, and certified copies attract the scheduled fee while personal inspection and copying are free.
Why this matters in practice
This is the practical route to the contents of a Thai court file, and it is worth knowing for anyone involved in litigation here. Three points recur. The free option is real: inspecting the file, or copying it yourself, attracts no fee, and only a clerk-certified copy is charged. The outside person limb gives a route for someone with a genuine interest who is not a party, such as an heir, an insurer, or a purchaser of property affected by the case, but the interest must be shown and the application is discretionary. And the timing point matters, because Section 52 sends the file to the Ministry of Justice once the case is finally over, so certified copies should be obtained while the file is still at the court. For a party who anticipates any later dispute about what was filed, taking certified copies of the pleadings and exhibits as a matter of routine also preserves the reconstruction remedy under Section 53.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 4301/2558 (2015)
Only a party, a witness as to his own testimony, or an outsider with a legitimate interest or reasonable ground may apply under section 54 paragraph one to inspect or copy documents in a case file; a person who is neither a party nor a person with a legitimate interest is not entitled to leave.
An applicant who was not a party sought certified copies of documents in a case file. The lower court refused because he was neither a party nor a person with a legitimate interest. Quoting section 54 paragraph one, the Supreme Court confirmed that leave to inspect or copy case-file documents is confined to parties, witnesses as to their own testimony, and outsiders with a legitimate interest or reasonable ground.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 4022/2541 (1998)
Allowing a party to copy the statements of its own witnesses before it has finished examining them, absent special circumstances, does not comply with section 54(2); but that provision does not absolutely bar the court from later admitting the testimony of witnesses examined afterward.
The trial court let the plaintiff copy its own witnesses' testimony while the plaintiff's evidence was still being taken, with no special circumstances shown. The Supreme Court held this breached section 54(2), but noted there is no absolute statutory prohibition preventing the court from admitting the testimony of witnesses examined afterward, which may in some cases rest in the court's discretion.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Cited in 5 Supreme Court decisions (1979 to 2015)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 4301/2558 (2015)
- Decision 5896/2544 (2001)
- Decision 4022/2541 (1998)
- Decision 5787/2545 (2002)
- Decision 149/2522 (1979)
This list is selected automatically, weighted towards judgments that turn on this section rather than ones that merely recite it when passing sentence. It has not yet been reviewed by the firm.
Counted across the firm's corpus of 83,652 Supreme Court decisions, 1921 to 2026. The count is complete; the stated year range trims rare outliers so it describes where the citations actually sit. These figures are computed by us and are not official court statistics. How we count these, and what we measured
Frequently asked questions
Who can inspect or copy documents in a court case file?
Under section 54, a party, a witness as to his own testimony, or an outsider with a legitimate interest or reasonable ground may apply for leave to inspect or copy documents, or to obtain certified copies from the court clerk.
Is there a fee to copy documents from a case file?
The court clerk charges the fee set in the schedule annexed to the Code for making and certifying copies. However, under section 54, if you inspect the documents or make copies yourself, no fee is charged.
Can I copy my own witnesses' statements during the trial?
Not until you have finished examining your own witnesses, unless there are special circumstances. Section 54(2) imposes this limit to protect the integrity of testimony.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
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Plain citation
Civil Procedure Code, s. 54 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Civil Procedure Code (Thailand), s. 54. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-civil-procedure-code/section-54/ (accessed 11 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.วิ.พ. มาตรา 54 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-civil-procedure-code/section-54/ -
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<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-civil-procedure-code/section-54/"><p>A party, or a witness as regards that witness's own testimony in the case, or an outside person having a legitimate interest or reasonable grounds, may apply to the court for leave, at any time during or after the trial, to inspect all or some…</p><footer>Civil Procedure Code, s. 54 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-civil-procedure-code/section-54/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.