Section 27: Challenging a criminal judge
Statutory text (Thai original)
ผู้พิพากษาในศาลใดซึ่งชำระคดีอาญา จะถูกตั้งรังเกียจตามบทบัญญัติแห่งประมวลกฎหมายวิธีพิจารณาความแพ่งซึ่งบัญญัติไว้ในเรื่องนั้นก็ได้
English translation
A judge in any court trying a criminal case may be challenged in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Procedure Code laid down on that matter.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified. Always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 27 sits in the part of the Code dealing with the court's power over criminal cases. Rather than restate the rules on recusal, it incorporates by reference the challenge provisions of the Civil Procedure Code (Sections 11 to 14 of that Code). This means the same grounds for objecting to a judge, such as a personal interest or relationship to a party, and the same procedure for deciding the challenge, apply in criminal trials. This drafting technique of borrowing civil procedure rules is used throughout the Criminal Procedure Code, most broadly in Section 15.
Why this matters in practice
A challenge to a judge must be raised properly and promptly, before the judge has ruled on the point in question, or the objection can be lost. Because the operative rules live in the Civil Procedure Code, get advice on both codes before filing. If you are unsure how a Thai criminal trial runs, read our guide on what to know before you go to court in Thailand.
Cited in 5 Supreme Court decisions (1949 to 2015)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 149/2521 (1978)
- Decision 11903/2554 (2011)
- Decision 1831/2558 (2015)
- Decision 741/2532 (1989)
- Decision 1901/2492 (1949)
This list is selected automatically, weighted towards judgments that turn on this section rather than ones that merely recite it when passing sentence. It has not yet been reviewed by the firm.
Most often cited alongside
Sections that appear in the same judgments as this one most often. The figure is the number of decisions.
Counted across the firm's corpus of 83,652 Supreme Court decisions, 1921 to 2026. The count is complete; the stated year range trims rare outliers so it describes where the citations actually sit. These figures are computed by us and are not official court statistics. How we count these, and what we measured
Frequently asked questions
Can I object to the judge in my criminal case?
Yes. Section 27 lets a party challenge a judge trying a criminal case, applying the grounds and procedure set out in the Civil Procedure Code.
What are the grounds to challenge a judge?
Section 27 does not list them; it points to the Civil Procedure Code, which covers situations such as a judge having a personal interest in the case or a close relationship with a party.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
-
Plain citation
Criminal Procedure Code, s. 27 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Criminal Procedure Code (Thailand), s. 27. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-27/ (accessed 11 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.วิ.อ. มาตรา 27 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-27/ -
Embed on your site
<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-27/"><p>A judge in any court trying a criminal case may be challenged in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Procedure Code laid down on that matter.</p><footer>Criminal Procedure Code, s. 27 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-27/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.