Section 97: Calling the opponent or oneself
Statutory text (Thai original)
คู่ความฝ่ายหนึ่ง จะอ้างคู่ความอีกฝ่ายหนึ่งเป็นพยานของตนหรือจะอ้างตนเองเป็นพยานก็ได้
English translation
A party may call the other party as its own witness, or may call itself as a witness.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified. Always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 97 confirms two things that might otherwise be doubted: a party may call the opposing party to testify as its own witness, and a party may testify on its own behalf. This reflects the truth-seeking character of Thai civil evidence, in which any person with relevant knowledge, including the adversary, is a potential source of proof. Because the right is express, using it cannot by itself amount to bad faith, and the opposing party summoned as a witness must answer, subject to the privileges in Section 92 and the competency rules in Section 95. The section is often invoked to compel an opponent to confirm signatures, dealings, or admissions.
Why this matters in practice
Calling your opponent as a witness can be a powerful tactic to lock in admissions, confirm a signature, or expose inconsistencies, and Section 97 makes clear it is not bad faith to do so. Plan the questions tightly, because a hostile witness will not volunteer help, and remember the opponent can still assert privilege under Section 92. Deciding whether to testify yourself is equally strategic; take advice before trial on who should take the stand.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 6798/2544 (2001)
Section 97 lets a party call the opposing party as its own witness, so doing so is not an exercise of rights in bad faith, and testimony given on matters within the pleadings is not evidence beyond the claim.
The Supreme Court held that the plaintiff's calling of a defendant as its witness was permitted by Section 97 and was not bad faith, and the defendant's evidence about the cheques did not go beyond the pleadings.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Cited in 3 Supreme Court decisions (1966 to 2001)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 301/2538 (1995)
- Decision 6798/2544 (2001)
- Decision 1169/2509 (1966)
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
Can I call the other side to testify as my witness?
Yes. Section 97 expressly allows a party to call the opposing party as its own witness, and using this right is not bad faith.
Can I testify for myself in my own case?
Yes. Section 97 allows a party to call itself as a witness and give evidence on its own behalf.
Cite this section
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Plain citation
Civil Procedure Code, s. 97 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Civil Procedure Code (Thailand), s. 97. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-civil-procedure-code/section-97/ (accessed 11 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.วิ.พ. มาตรา 97 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-civil-procedure-code/section-97/ -
Embed on your site
<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-civil-procedure-code/section-97/"><p>A party may call the other party as its own witness, or may call itself as a witness.</p><footer>Civil Procedure Code, s. 97 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-civil-procedure-code/section-97/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.