Section 12 — Form of documents and corrections
Statutory text (Thai original)
เอกสารซึ่งศาลหรือเจ้าพนักงานเป็นผู้ทำคำร้องทุกข์ คำกล่าวโทษ คำให้การจำเลยหรือคำร้องซึ่งยื่นต่อเจ้าพนักงานหรือศาล จักต้องเขียนด้วยน้ำหมึกหรือพิมพ์ดีดหรือพิมพ์ ถ้ามีผิดที่ใดห้ามมิให้ลบออก ให้เพียงแต่ขีดฆ่าคำผิดนั้นแล้วเขียนใหม่ ผู้พิพากษา เจ้าพนักงานหรือบุคคลผู้แก้ไขเช่นนั้นต้องลงนามย่อรับรองไว้ที่ข้างกระดาษถ้อยคำตกเติมในเอกสารดังบรรยายในมาตรานี้ต้องลงนามย่อของผู้พิพากษา เจ้าพนักงานหรือบุคคลผู้ซึ่งตกเติมนั้นกำกับไว้
English translation
Documents made by the Court or an official, complaints, denunciations, statements of a defendant, or applications submitted to an official or the Court, shall be written in ink, typewritten or printed. If there is any error, it shall not be erased; the incorrect word shall only be struck through and rewritten, and the judge, official or person making such correction shall place his initials to certify it in the margin. Any interlineation added to a document as described in this Section shall be initialed by the judge, official or person who made the addition.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 12 completes the Code's document-formality group with Sections 9, 10 and 11 by governing how key documents are physically made and corrected. The ban on erasures, the strike-through-and-initial method for corrections, and the initialing of interlineations all guard against undetected tampering with complaints, statements and applications. These rules preserve the integrity of the paper record on which criminal cases still substantially depend.
Why this matters in practice
Section 12 gives a simple integrity check for documents in the file: corrections should appear as strike-throughs with initials, never as erasures, and insertions should be initialed. If a complaint, statement or application shows erased or unexplained alterations, that is worth raising, because the rule exists to prevent covert changes. Ensuring your own filings follow this form avoids later disputes about authenticity.
Frequently asked questions
How must documents in a Thai criminal case be written?
Under Section 12, documents such as complaints, denunciations, statements and applications must be written in ink, typewritten or printed.
How are errors corrected in these documents?
Section 12 forbids erasing; the wrong word is struck through and rewritten, and the person making the correction or insertion initials it to certify the change.