Section 199 — Prisoner Filing an Appeal Through the Warden
Statutory text (Thai original)
ผู้อุทธรณ์ซึ่งต้องขังหรือต้องจำคุกอยู่ในเรือนจำ อาจยื่นอุทธรณ์ต่อพัศดีภายในกำหนดอายุอุทธรณ์ เมื่อได้รับอุทธรณ์นั้นแล้ว ให้พัศดีออกใบรับให้แก่ผู้ยื่นอุทธรณ์ แล้วให้รีบส่งอุทธรณ์นั้นไปยังศาลชั้นต้นอุทธรณ์ฉบับใดที่ยื่นต่อพัศดีส่งไปถึงศาลเมื่อพ้นกำหนดอายุอุทธรณ์แล้ว ถ้าหากปรากฏว่าการส่งชักช้านั้นมิใช่เป็นความผิดของผู้ยื่นอุทธรณ์ ให้ถือว่าเป็นอุทธรณ์ที่ได้ยื่นภายในกำหนดอายุอุทธรณ์
English translation
An appellant who is in detention or serving imprisonment in prison may file an appeal with the prison warden within the appeal period. When the warden has received such appeal, he shall issue a receipt to the person filing the appeal and shall promptly forward the appeal to the Court of First Instance. If an appeal filed with the warden reaches the court after the appeal period has expired, then, if it appears that the delay in forwarding was not the fault of the person filing the appeal, it shall be deemed an appeal filed within the appeal period.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 199 gives incarcerated appellants a practical means of exercising the right of appeal without needing to attend court, by allowing them to lodge the appeal with the prison warden. The warden must receipt the document and forward it promptly. The section protects the prisoner from administrative delay: if the appeal reaches the court after the deadline, but the delay was the warden's and not the appellant's, it is deemed timely. The crucial point, however, is that the prisoner must still hand the appeal to the warden within the ordinary appeal period fixed by Section 198; the section shelters against delay in forwarding, not against the appellant's own lateness. Through Sections 216 and 225, the same mechanism applies to petitions to the Supreme Court.
Why this matters in practice
If you are in custody and want to appeal, you do not need to reach the courthouse yourself: hand your appeal to the prison warden and insist on a dated receipt, because that receipt proves when you filed. Do this within the one-month appeal period, since the protection here covers only delay caused by the warden in forwarding the document, not your own delay in handing it over. The same route works for a petition to the Supreme Court. If you have a family member outside, coordinate with a lawyer promptly through an online consultation with a Thai lawyer so nothing is missed.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 550/2529 (1986)
A detained appellant filing through the warden under Section 199 must still do so within the appeal period; a petition handed to the warden after the one-month period is out of time even if the court accepted it.
The one-month period for the imprisoned defendant to petition ran from the reading of the Court of Appeal's judgment on 26 March 2528 and expired on 26 April 2528. Because he could file with the warden under Section 199 together with Sections 216 and 225 only within that period, his petition handed to the warden on 29 April 2528 was out of time, and the Supreme Court could not rule on it even though the trial court had accepted it.
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 does a prisoner file an appeal in Thailand?
Under Section 199, a detained or imprisoned appellant may file the appeal with the prison warden within the appeal period; the warden issues a receipt and forwards it to the trial court.
What if the warden forwards the prisoner's appeal to the court late?
If the appeal reaches the court after the deadline only because of the warden's delay, and not the prisoner's fault, Section 199 deems it filed within the appeal period. But the prisoner must have handed it to the warden in time.