Section 239 — Summons for Documents Held by Others
Statutory text (Thai original)
เอกสารใดซึ่งคู่ความอ้าง แต่มิได้อยู่ในความยึดถือของเขา ถ้าคู่ความนั้นแจ้งถึงลักษณะและที่อยู่ของเอกสารต่อศาล ให้ศาลหมายเรียกบุคคลผู้ยึดถือนำเอกสารนั้นมาส่งศาล
English translation
Where a party cites a document that is not in his possession, if that party informs the court of the nature and location of the document, the court shall issue a summons to the person holding it to bring that document to the court.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 239 provides the mechanism for compelling production of documentary evidence held by a third party, within Book 5, Chapter 3 on documentary evidence. A party who cannot physically produce a relevant document because someone else holds it need only identify its nature and whereabouts; the court then issues a summons to the holder. This complements Section 238's best evidence rule by giving parties a route to obtain originals, and works with Section 240 on document disclosure. The courts have cautioned that this power concerns documents cited by the parties and does not license the court to pull in unrelated case files of its own motion.
Why this matters in practice
If a key document is held by a bank, government office, company, or another person, you do not have to obtain it yourself; identify it clearly and ask the court to summon the holder to produce it. Precision matters, name the document and its location so the summons can be issued and enforced. This tool is often decisive where the other side or a third party controls the paper trail. A litigation lawyer can draft the request and follow up on enforcement.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 846/2534 (1991)
It is improper under Sections 239 and 240 for the trial court to call in the case files of unrelated criminal cases as its own evidence; but where the courts did not in fact rely on facts from those files, the judgment is not vitiated.
In a copyright dispute, the trial court had summoned the files of other criminal cases to serve as the court's own evidence. The Supreme Court held this was improper under Sections 239 and 240, but because the lower courts did not actually use any facts drawn from those files, their judgments were not thereby rendered defective.
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 do you get a document held by someone else into evidence in Thailand?
Under Section 239, tell the court the nature and location of the document, and the court will summon the person holding it to bring it to court.
Can the court call in case files from other cases on its own?
The Supreme Court has held that summoning documents under Section 239 concerns documents cited by the parties, and it is improper for the court to pull in unrelated case files of its own motion.