Section 194 — Law-Only Appeal Binds Appellate Court to Found Facts
Statutory text (Thai original)
ถ้ามีอุทธรณ์แต่ในปัญหาข้อกฎหมาย ในการวินิจฉัยปัญหาข้อกฎหมายนั้น ๆ ศาลอุทธรณ์จะต้องฟังข้อเท็จจริงตามที่ศาลชั้นต้นวินิจฉัยมาแล้วจากพยานหลักฐานในสำนวน
English translation
If the appeal is only on a question of law, then in deciding such question of law the Court of Appeal must accept the facts as already determined by the Court of First Instance from the evidence in the record.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 194 fixes the scope of review in a law-only appeal within Title 4, Chapter 1. Where a party appeals solely on a question of law, the Court of Appeal is bound to the facts as found by the trial court from the record and may not reweigh the evidence. The provision reinforces the fact-versus-law division that runs through Section 193 bis and, through Section 225, governs law-only petitions to the Supreme Court as well, so the apex court likewise decides the legal point on the facts already established below. The same principle is applied by reference in specialized jurisdictions, such as the Intellectual Property and International Trade Court, whose statute imports Section 194.
Why this matters in practice
This section shapes appeal strategy: if you frame your appeal as law-only, you cannot ask the higher court to find the facts differently, and you are locked into the trial court's factual findings. If you genuinely dispute the facts, you must preserve a fact appeal where it is available rather than dressing a factual complaint as a legal one, because the court will still treat the facts as settled. The same limit applies when you reach the Supreme Court on a point of law. Deciding whether your real grievance is factual or legal is a judgment call best made with counsel through an online consultation with a Thai lawyer.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 2594/2562 (2019)
In a law-only petition, the Supreme Court must accept the facts as found by the trial and appellate courts from the record and decide only the legal question, under Section 194 together with Section 225.
The case reached the Supreme Court only on a question of law. The court held that under Section 194 together with Section 225 it had to accept the facts as determined by the trial court and the Court of Appeal Region 7 from the evidence in the record, and then examined the legal issues concerning attempted murder and firearms offenses on those settled facts.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 9798/2555 (2012)
The principle that a court deciding a law-only appeal must accept the facts found from the record applies by reference to specialized courts through Section 194.
On appeal from the Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court, the Supreme Court held it had to accept the facts found by that court from the record, applying that court's establishing statute together with Section 194. It then decided the legal issues, including the effect of the defendant's change of plea to guilty on the consumer-protection charge, on those settled facts.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Frequently asked questions
Can the Court of Appeal re-examine the facts in a law-only criminal appeal?
No. Under Section 194, when an appeal raises only a question of law, the Court of Appeal must accept the facts as found by the trial court from the record and decide only the legal issue.
Does this rule also apply when a case reaches the Supreme Court on law?
Yes. Through Section 225, the same principle applies to law-only petitions, so the Supreme Court also decides the legal point based on the facts already established by the lower courts.