Section 188 — When a Judgment Takes Effect
Statutory text (Thai original)
คำพิพากษาหรือคำสั่งมีผลตั้งแต่วันที่ได้อ่านในศาลโดยเปิดเผยเป็นต้นไป
English translation
A judgment or order takes effect from the day it is read in open court onward.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 188 fixes the operative moment of a decision in Title 3 (Judgments and Orders): it has legal effect from the day of its public reading, tying it to the reading procedure in Section 182. This anchors a chain of consequences, including when a penalty begins to bite and when time to appeal starts to run. The Supreme Court has applied it to determine when a trial-court judgment became enforceable, and to fix the date a case became final where a judgment was read to co-defendants on different days but only the earliest reading of a no-longer-appealable judgment counts. The rule gives certainty by pointing to a single public event, the reading, as the source of legal effect.
Why this matters in practice
This short section has large practical consequences: a judgment binds and its deadlines run from the reading date, so knowing exactly when it was read is essential for calculating your appeal window and any sentence. Where there are several defendants and the judgment is read on different days, the finality date can turn on the earliest reading of a decision that is no longer open to appeal, which affects when custody or execution clocks start. Do not assume time runs from the date on the document; confirm the actual reading date and diarise your deadlines from it. If unsure how these dates fall, get quick advice before your appeal period lapses.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 3618/2566 (2023)
A trial-court judgment has binding effect from the day it is read, under Section 188, which fixes the starting point for the consequences the substantive law attaches to conviction.
The trial court read its judgment on 28 November 2018 convicting certain defendants under the Foreign Business Act. The Supreme Court applied Section 188 to hold that the judgment took binding effect from that reading date, from which the Act's further consequences followed.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 425/2559 (2016)
Since a judgment takes effect from the day it is read in open court under Section 188, where a Supreme Court judgment was first read to one defendant, that date fixes when the case became final for all defendants who had not appealed further.
The Supreme Court judgment was read to the first defendant on 26 July 2012. Applying Section 188, the Court held the judgment took effect on that date, so the case became final then for every defendant, regardless of a later reading to another defendant who had not pursued a further appeal.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Frequently asked questions
When does a criminal judgment take effect in Thailand?
Under Section 188, from the day it is read in open court, not from when it was written or decided. This date anchors appeal deadlines and enforcement.
If a judgment is read to co-defendants on different days, when is the case final?
The finality date can turn on the earliest reading of a judgment that is no longer open to appeal. The Supreme Court has applied Section 188 to fix that date for all defendants accordingly.