Section 29 — Continuing a case after the plaintiff dies
Statutory text (Thai original)
เมื่อผู้เสียหายได้ยื่นฟ้องแล้วตายลง ผู้บุพการี ผู้สืบสันดาน สามีหรือภริยาจะดำเนินคดีต่างผู้ตายต่อไปก็ได้ถ้าผู้เสียหายที่ตายนั้นเป็นผู้เยาว์ ผู้วิกลจริต หรือผู้ไร้ความสามารถ ซึ่งผู้แทนโดยชอบธรรม ผู้อนุบาลหรือผู้แทนเฉพาะคดีได้ยื่นฟ้องแทนไว้แล้ว ผู้ฟ้องแทนนั้นจะว่าคดีต่อไปก็ได้
English translation
When an injured person who has filed a charge dies, the ascendants, descendants, husband or wife may carry on the prosecution in place of the deceased. If the deceased injured person was a minor, a person of unsound mind, or an incompetent person, on whose behalf a legal representative, a guardian, or an ad litem representative had already filed the charge, that person who filed on his behalf may continue to conduct the case.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 29 keeps a validly filed private prosecution alive after the plaintiff can no longer conduct it. The first paragraph lets an ascendant, descendant, spouse continue the case of a deceased injured person; the second paragraph lets the legal representative, guardian, or ad litem representative who filed for a minor or incapacitated person carry on. The provision presupposes a charge already lodged under Section 28: it is a mechanism for continuation, not a fresh grant of standing. A survivor who is independently an injured person in their own right does not need this section and may sue under Section 28.
Why this matters in practice
For the survivor to step in, the deceased must have actually filed the charge while alive; this section does not let family start a case the deceased never brought. Move quickly to enter the case and prove the family relationship, and check whether you also qualify as an injured person in your own right. If a relative's criminal case is in progress and you may need to continue it, book a consultation with a Thai lawyer.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 9004/2558 (2015)
Where a guardian filed a charge for an incapacitated injured person and both the guardian and then the injured person die, another guardian may continue the case under the second paragraph of Section 29.
A guardian had filed the charge for the injured plaintiff. After one guardian died another entered, and when the plaintiff later died the remaining guardian continued the case under Section 29 second paragraph. The court proceeded to the preliminary hearing and accepted the charge on the surviving counts.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 14252/2558 (2015)
When a plaintiff who has signed the appeal dies, a child may enter to conduct the case in place of the deceased under Section 29, rather than merely substituting as a party under civil procedure.
The second plaintiff died after signing the appeal. The first plaintiff, the child, applied to take over. The court clarified that the proper basis was continuation of the case in place of the deceased under Section 29, and the deceased had signed the appeal before dying, so the case could go on.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 4337/2565 (2022)
A person who is directly injured in their own right sues as an injured person under Section 28 and need not wait to continue a deceased relative's case under Section 29.
In a forged will case, the plaintiff's status as an injured person was separate from that of the deceased and not exclusive to her. It was therefore unnecessary for the relative to have filed first and then died before the plaintiff could act; the plaintiff sued in his own right under Section 28, not as a continuation under Section 29.
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 family continue a criminal case if the victim dies?
Yes. Under Section 29, an ascendant, descendant, husband or wife of the deceased injured person may carry on a case the deceased had already filed.
Can relatives start a new case for a deceased victim under Section 29?
No. Section 29 only lets a survivor continue a case the deceased had already filed. Starting a fresh case requires being an injured person in your own right under Section 28.
Who continues a minor's case if the minor dies?
Under the second paragraph of Section 29, the legal representative, guardian, or ad litem representative who filed the charge on the minor's or incapacitated person's behalf may continue it.