Thai Criminal Procedure Code (ป.วิ.อาญา)
Content current as of: April 4, 2026
- Section 1 — Defined terms and their meaning
- Section 2 — Definitions used in the Code
- Section 3 — Acting on behalf of an injured person
- Section 4 — Married woman's right to prosecute
- Section 5 — Persons who may act for the injured
- Section 6 — Court-appointed representative for the case
- Section 7 — Juristic person as accused or defendant
- Section 7/1 — Rights of an arrested person in custody
- Section 8 — Rights of the defendant after charge
- Section 9 — Requirements for an official memorandum
- Section 10 — Requirements for a court record
- Section 11 — Reading and signing statements
- Section 12 — Form of documents and corrections
- Section 12 bis — Psychologists and social workers
- Section 13 — Language of proceedings and interpreters
- Section 13 bis — Repealed
- Section 14 — Insane accused unable to defend
- Section 15 — Civil Procedure applied suppletively
- Section 28 — Who may prosecute a criminal case
- Section 29 — Continuing a case after the plaintiff dies
- Section 30 — Injured person joining the prosecutor
- Section 31 — Prosecutor joining the injured person
- Section 32 — Prosecutor controlling a co-plaintiff
- Section 33 — Consolidating the same case
- Section 34 — Non-prosecution order and private suit
- Section 35 — Withdrawing a criminal charge
- Section 36 — Refiling a withdrawn case
- Section 37 — When a criminal case terminates
- Section 38 — Official's power to compound
- Section 39 — Extinguishment of the right to prosecute
- Section 40 — Connected civil case: which court
- Section 41 — Severing the civil case
- Section 42 — Timing of civil and criminal judgments
- Section 43 — Prosecutor's claim for stolen property or value
- Section 44 — How and when restitution is claimed
- Section 44/1 — Victim's motion for compensation in criminal case
- Section 44/2 — Handling the victim's compensation motion
- Section 45 — Civil action not barred by criminal charge
- Section 46 — Civil judgment bound by criminal facts
- Section 47 — Civil liability judged by civil law
- Section 48 — Returning property and ownership disputes
- Section 49 — Returning exhibits without a civil claim
- Section 50 — Victim treated as judgment creditor
- Section 51 — Prescription for connected civil claims
- Section 57 — Warrant required for arrest, detention, search
- Section 58 — Court's power to issue warrants
- Section 59 — Issuing and revoking warrants
- Section 59/1 — Evidential threshold for warrants
- Section 60 — Required contents of a warrant
- Section 61 — Officials who execute warrants
- Section 62 — Informing and showing the warrant
- Section 63 — Recording and returning the warrant
- Section 64 — Delivering the person or thing found
- Section 65 — Re-arrest of an escapee
- Section 77 — Nationwide validity and execution of an arrest warrant
- Section 78 — Warrantless arrest by officers
- Section 79 — Arrest by a private person
- Section 80 — Definition of a flagrant offense
- Section 81 — No arrest in a private place
- Section 81/1 — No arrest in royal residences
- Section 82 — Requesting help to execute a warrant
- Section 83 — Duties when making an arrest
- Section 84 — Handover of the arrested person
- Section 84/1 — Custody or release after handover
- Section 85 — Search of the person and seizure of evidence
- Section 85/1 — Interim recovery of seized property
- Section 86 — No custody beyond what is necessary
- Section 87 — Limits on pre-charge detention and remand
- Section 87/1 — Remand examination by video conference
- Section 88 — Detention or release after indictment
- Section 89 — Territorial effect of detention warrants
- Section 89/1 — Detention in a place other than prison
- Section 89/2 — Alternative methods of serving imprisonment
- Section 90 — Remedy against unlawful custody
- Section 91 — Section 81/1 applied to searches
- Section 92 — Search of private place: warrant rule
- Section 93 — Search of a person in public
- Section 94 — Entry, showing warrant, use of force
- Section 95 — Owner may accompany property search
- Section 96 — Daytime search rule and exceptions
- Section 97 — Who may lead a warrant search
- Section 98 — Scope of search and seizure
- Section 99 — Avoiding damage during a search
- Section 100 — Controlling and searching persons present
- Section 101 — Sealing or marking seized property
- Section 102 — Manner of search and witnesses
- Section 103 — Recording the search and inventory
- Section 104 — Forwarding search record and property
- Section 105 — Seizing mail and telegrams
- Section 106 — Where to apply for provisional release
- Section 107 — Prompt decision on bail
- Section 108 — Factors for deciding bail
- Section 108/1 — Grounds to refuse bail
- Section 108/2 — Witness objection to bail
- Section 109 — Objection in serious cases
- Section 110 — Bond and security requirements
- Section 111 — Release without security
- Section 112 — Bail contract requirements
- Section 113 — Bail time limits at inquiry
- Section 113/1 — Carrying over bail security
- Section 114 — Types of security
- Section 115 — Changing bail terms
- Section 116 — Withdrawing bail security
- Section 117 — Arrest of absconding accused
- Section 118 — Return of bail security
- Section 119 — Enforcement of forfeited bail bonds
- Section 119 bis — Appeal against denial of bail
- Section 120 — No prosecution without investigation
- Section 121 — Investigator power and complaint requirement
- Section 122 — When investigation may be declined
- Section 123 — Lodging a complaint by the victim
- Section 124 — Complaint to other officers
- Section 124/1 — Recording a child victim complaint
- Section 125 — Duty to arrange a proper complaint
- Section 126 — Amending or withdrawing a complaint
- Section 127 — Accusations by informants
- Section 128 — Delegation of investigation duties
- Section 129 — Autopsy in death cases
- Section 130 — Prompt start of investigation
- Section 131 — Duty to gather all evidence
- Section 131/1 — Scientific evidence in investigations
- Section 132 — Powers to gather evidence
- Section 133 — Summoning and questioning witnesses
- Section 133 bis — Questioning child victims and witnesses
- Section 133 ter — Child identification of persons
- Section 134 — Notifying the accused of the charge
- Section 134/1 — Right to a lawyer at investigation
- Section 134/2 — Child accused questioning safeguards
- Section 134/3 — Right to have counsel present
- Section 134/4 — Caution before questioning the accused
- Section 135 — Prohibition on coercing a confession
- Section 136 — Repealed
- Section 137 — Power to hold persons at scene
- Section 138 — Investigating the accused's background
- Section 139 — Recording and compiling the case file
- Section 140 — Closing an investigation: options
- Section 141 — Known offender not yet arrested
- Section 142 — Known offender in custody
- Section 143 — Prosecutor's decision on the file
- Section 144 — Prosecutor directing compounding
- Section 145 — Review of non-prosecution orders
- Section 145/1 — Police non-prosecution review (modern)
- Section 146 — Notice of final non-prosecution
- Section 147 — Bar on re-investigation
- Section 148 — Inquest for unnatural death
- Section 149 — Duty to report unnatural death
- Section 150 — Inquest procedure and court inquiry
- Section 150 bis — Tampering with a corpse or scene
- Section 151 — Power to order autopsy
- Section 152 — Analyst's report of findings
- Section 153 — Exhumation of Buried Body for Inquest
- Section 154 — Written Inquest Opinion on Cause of Death
- Section 155 — Applying Investigation Rules to Inquests
- Section 155/1 — Prosecutor Joins Custodial-Death Investigations
- Section 156 — Non-Criminal Death Inquest File Routing
- Section 157 — Filing a Charge with the Competent Court
- Section 158 — Required Contents of a Criminal Charge
- Section 159 — Pleading a Recidivism Sentence Increase
- Section 160 — Joining Multiple Counts in One Charge
- Section 161 — Correcting or Dismissing a Defective Charge
- Section 161/1 — Dismissing Bad-Faith Private Prosecutions
- Section 162 — Court Action on a Proper Charge
- Section 163 — Amending the Charge or the Plea
- Section 164 — Amendment Must Not Prejudice the Defence
- Section 165 — Preliminary Examination Procedure and the Accused
- Section 165/1 — Court-Appointed Counsel at Preliminary Hearing
- Section 165/2 — Defendant's Statement at Preliminary Hearing
- Section 166 — Dismissal for Prosecutor's Non-Appearance
- Section 167 — Prima Facie Ruling After Preliminary Hearing
- Section 168 — Service of the Charge After Acceptance
- Section 169 — Summons or Arrest Warrant to Secure Defendant
- Section 170 — Finality of Prima Facie Order and Appeals
- Section 171 — Trial Rules Applied to Preliminary Hearing
- Section 172 — Open Trial and Arraignment of the Defendant
- Section 172 bis — Trial and Evidence in the Defendant's Absence
- Section 172 ter — Taking Evidence of a Child Witness
- Section 172 quater — Out-of-Court Examination of a Child Witness
- Section 173 — Court-Appointed Counsel Before Trial
- Section 173/1 — Pre-Trial Examination of Evidence and Witness Lists
- Section 173/2 — Procedure on the Evidence-Examination Day
- Section 174 — Order of Presenting the Case at Trial
- Section 175 — Court's Power to Summon the Investigation File
- Section 176 — Guilty Plea and Conviction Without Evidence
- Section 177 — Power to Order a Trial in Camera
- Section 178 — Persons Allowed in a Closed Courtroom
- Section 179 — Continuous Trial and Adjournment
- Section 180 — Maintaining Order in Criminal Court
- Section 181 — Application of Sections 139 and 166 to Trial
- Section 182 — Reading Judgment and Absence of Parties
- Section 183 — Written and Signed Judgments; Dissent
- Section 184 — Deliberation and Majority Voting
- Section 185 — Acquittal or Conviction of the Defendant
- Section 186 — Required Contents of a Judgment
- Section 187 — Required Contents of an Interlocutory Order
- Section 188 — When a Judgment Takes Effect
- Section 189 — Free Certified Judgment Copy for Indigent Convicts
- Section 190 — No Alteration of a Judgment Once Read
- Section 191 — Explaining Doubts in Enforcing a Judgment
- Section 192 — No Judgment Beyond the Charge
- Section 193 — Appeals to the Court of Appeal
- Section 193 bis — Bar on Fact Appeals in Minor Cases
- Section 193 ter — Certified Leave to Appeal a Barred Case
- Section 194 — Law-Only Appeal Binds Appellate Court to Found Facts
- Section 195 — Legal Grounds and Public-Order Exceptions on Appeal
- Section 196 — No Separate Appeal of Interlocutory Orders
- Section 197 — One Party's Appeal Does Not Bar Another's
- Section 198 — Filing an Appeal and the One-Month Deadline
- Section 198 bis — Challenging a Refusal to Accept an Appeal
- Section 199 — Prisoner Filing an Appeal Through the Warden
- Section 200 — Service of the Appeal for the Reply
- Section 201 — Forwarding File When Appeal Service Fails
- Section 202 — Withdrawal of Appeal
- Section 203 — When the Court of Appeal Sits in Open Court
- Section 204 — Notice and Timing of Open Hearing
- Section 205 — Statements Explaining the Appeal
- Section 206 — Order of Oral Statements on Appeal
- Section 207 — Custody and Bail During Appeal
- Section 208 — Additional Evidence and Remand on Appeal
- Section 208 bis — Plenary Session of the Court of Appeal
- Section 209 — Rendering and Reading Appellate Judgment
- Section 210 — Dismissal of Out-of-Time Appeal
- Section 211 — Single Judgment on Merits and Interlocutory Order
- Section 212 — No Harsher Sentence on Defendant's Appeal
- Section 213 — Extending Favorable Judgment to Co-Defendants
- Section 214 — Required Contents of Appellate Judgment
- Section 215 — Appeal Court Applies First-Instance Rules
- Section 216 — Right and Deadline to File Dika Appeal
- Section 217 — Law-Only Dika Restriction Binds Everyone
- Section 218 — Fact-Question Dika Bar on Affirmed Sentences
- Section 219 — Fact-Question Dika Bar on Low Sentences
- Section 219 bis — Dika Bar on Safety-Measure Facts
- Section 219 ter — Dika Bar on Confinement-Related Sentences
- Section 220 — Dika Bar on Double Acquittals
- Section 221 — Certification Exception to Dika Bars
- Section 222 — Supreme Court Bound by Appeal Court Facts
- Section 223 — Trial Court Screens and Forwards Dika
- Section 224 — Appeal Against Refusal to Accept Dika
- Section 226 — Admissibility of Evidence Lawfully Obtained
- Section 226/1 — Exclusion of Unlawfully Obtained Evidence
- Section 226/2 — Bad Character and Prior Bad Acts Evidence
- Section 226/3 — Hearsay Evidence Rule and Exceptions
- Section 226/4 — Rape Shield in Sexual Offense Cases
- Section 226/5 — Use of Prior Recorded Testimony
- Section 227 — Weighing Evidence and Benefit of the Doubt
- Section 227/1 — Cautious Weighing of Weak Evidence
- Section 228 — Court Power to Take Additional Evidence
- Section 229 — Court Takes Evidence In or Out of Court
- Section 229/1 — List of Evidence Requirement and Deadlines
- Section 230 — On-Site Viewing and Commission to Take Evidence
- Section 230/1 — Video Conference Testimony
- Section 230/2 — Written Statement from Witness Abroad
- Section 231 — Privileged and Confidential Evidence
- Section 232 — Prosecutor Cannot Call the Defendant
- Section 233 — Defendant Testifying as a Witness
- Section 234 — Witness Privilege Against Self-Incrimination
- Section 235 — Court's Power to Question Parties and Witnesses
- Section 236 — Sequestration of Witnesses at Trial
- Section 237 — Reading and Reuse of Witness Testimony
- Section 237 bis — Pre-Trial Preservation of Witness Testimony
- Section 237 ter — Pre-Trial Preservation of Expert and Scientific Evidence
- Section 245 — Execution of Judgment and Automatic Appeal Review
- Section 246 — Suspension of Imprisonment Enforcement
- Section 247 — Carrying Out the Death Penalty
- Section 248 — Postponing Execution for Insanity
- Section 249 — Civil Enforcement of Restitution Orders
- Section 250 — Joint Liability of Co-Offenders
- Section 251 — Priority of Payment on Seized Property
- Section 252 — No Court Fees in Criminal Cases
- Section 253 — Fee Exemption for Restitution Claims
- Section 254 — Court Fees and Fee-Waiver Applications
- Section 255 — Ordering the Losing Party to Pay Fees
- Section 256 — Witness Travel and Allowance Expenses
- Section 257 — Service Costs in Private Prosecutions
- Section 258 — Civil Procedure Rules on Litigation Costs
- Section 259 — Petition for Royal Pardon
- Section 260 — Filing a Pardon Petition from Prison
- Section 261 — Minister of Justice's Pardon Petition Duty
- Section 261 bis — Collective Pardon by Royal Decree
- Section 262 — Death Sentence: Stay and Timing
- Section 263 — No Stay for Non-Capital Penalties
- Section 264 — Two-Year Bar on Refiling a Pardon Petition
- Section 265 — Effect of a Pardon on the Penalty
- Section 266 — Pardon Does Not Erase Recidivism
- Section 267 — Commutation and Reduction; Appended Schedule