Section 198 — Filing an Appeal and the One-Month Deadline
Statutory text (Thai original)
การยื่นอุทธรณ์
ให้ยื่นต่อศาลชั้นต้นในกำหนดหนึ่งเดือนนับแต่วันอ่าน
หรือถือว่าได้อ่านคำพิพากษาหรือคำสั่งให้คู่ความฝ่ายที่อุทธรณ์ฟัง
ให้เป็นหน้าที่ศาลชั้นต้นตรวจอุทธรณ์ว่าควรจะรับส่งขึ้นไปยังศาลอุทธรณ์หรือไม่
ตามบทบัญญัติแห่งประมวลกฎหมายนี้ถ้าเห็นว่าไม่ควรรับให้จดเหตุผลไว้ในคำสั่งของศาลนั้นโดยชัดเจนในกรณีที่ตามคำพิพากษาจำเลยต้องรับโทษจำคุกหรือโทษสถานที่หนักกว่านั้นและจำเลยไม่ได้ถูกคุมขัง
จำเลยจะยื่นอุทธรณ์ได้ต่อเมื่อแสดงตนต่อเจ้าพนักงานศาลในขณะยื่นอุทธรณ์ มิฉะนั้นให้ศาลมีคำสั่งไม่รับอุทธรณ์ ทั้งนี้
ประธานศาลฎีกาอาจออกข้อบังคับกำหนดหลักเกณฑ์ วิธีการ
และเงื่อนไขการแสดงตนของจำเลยก็ได้ ข้อบังคับนั้น
เมื่อประกาศในราชกิจจานุเบกษาแล้วให้ใช้บังคับได้ ความในวรรคสามมิให้ใช้บังคับแก่กรณีที่จำเลยได้รับการรอการลงโทษจำคุก
หรือรับโทษจำคุกตามคำพิพากษาครบถ้วนแล้ว
English translation
An appeal shall be filed with the Court of First Instance within one month from the day on which the judgment or order is read, or is deemed to have been read, to the party filing the appeal. It shall be the duty of the Court of First Instance to examine the appeal to determine whether it should be accepted and sent up to the Court of Appeal in accordance with the provisions of this Code; if it is of the opinion that it should not be accepted, it shall clearly record the reasons in its order. In a case where, under the judgment, the defendant is to serve imprisonment or a punishment more severe than that, and the defendant is not in custody, the defendant may file an appeal only upon presenting himself to a court officer at the time of filing the appeal; otherwise the court shall order that the appeal not be accepted. To this end, the President of the Supreme Court may issue regulations prescribing the criteria, methods, and conditions for the defendant's presentation of himself; such regulations, once published in the Government Gazette, shall come into force. The provisions of paragraph 3 shall not apply where the defendant has been granted suspension of the imprisonment, or has fully served the imprisonment under the judgment.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 198 governs the mechanics and timing of filing an appeal in Title 4, Chapter 1. The core rule is a one-month period running from the reading, or deemed reading, of the judgment or order; missing it renders the judgment final and any late appeal improper. The trial court acts as an initial gatekeeper, screening whether the appeal should be sent up and recording reasons for any refusal. Paragraph 3 adds an anti-flight condition: an at-liberty defendant facing imprisonment must present himself to a court officer when filing, or the appeal is refused, subject to regulations of the President of the Supreme Court. Paragraph 4 exempts defendants whose imprisonment was suspended or already served in full. The one-month rule interacts with the finality provisions and with the extension mechanism borrowed from civil procedure.
Why this matters in practice
The one-month clock is the single most important deadline here: it starts when the judgment is read (or deemed read), and filing even a day late will usually kill the appeal and make the judgment final. If you need more time, apply for an extension before the deadline passes; a granted-but-unused extension can shift the finality date, but do not rely on it loosely. If you are a defendant facing prison but not currently in custody, you must physically appear before a court officer when you file, unless your sentence was suspended or fully served. Because these rules are strict and time-sensitive, arrange representation early through our legal fees page.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 2311/2567 (2024)
A judgment becomes final when the one-month period from the reading expires under Section 198; where an extension was granted but not used, finality reverts to that statutory one-month point.
The Supreme Court explained that a judgment not appealed within the prescribed time is final from the expiry of that period, meaning one month from the reading under Sections 198 and 216. Where a party obtained an extension of the appeal period but did not use it, the finality date reverts to the statutory one-month period read together with civil procedure provisions applied through Section 15.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 4443/2565 (2022)
An appeal filed after the one-month period has passed is not in compliance with Section 198 paragraph 1; accepting and ruling on it is unlawful and gives the defendant no right to petition further.
The Supreme Court raised on its own, as a public-order point, that the defendant filed his appeal on 27 April 2564, after the appeal period had already lapsed. It held this did not comply with Section 198 paragraph 1, so the trial court's acceptance and the Court of Appeal Region 1's ruling were unlawful and gave the defendant no right to petition to the Supreme Court.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Frequently asked questions
How long do I have to appeal a criminal judgment in Thailand?
Under Section 198 you have one month from the day the judgment or order is read, or deemed read, to file your appeal with the trial court. Filing late usually makes the judgment final.
Must a defendant appear in person to file an appeal?
If the defendant is sentenced to imprisonment and is not in custody, yes: paragraph 3 requires presenting himself to a court officer when filing, or the appeal is refused. This does not apply if the sentence was suspended or fully served.
Who decides whether my appeal goes up to the Court of Appeal?
The Court of First Instance first examines the appeal and decides whether it should be accepted and sent up, recording clear reasons if it refuses. A refusal can be challenged under Section 198 bis.