Section 42 — Timing of civil and criminal judgments
Statutory text (Thai original)
ในการพิจารณาคดีแพ่ง ถ้าพยานหลักฐานที่นำสืบแล้วในคดีอาญายังไม่เพียงพอ ศาลจะเรียกพยานหลักฐานมาสืบเพิ่มเติมอีกก็ได้ในกรณีเช่นนั้นศาลจะพิพากษาคดีอาญาไปทีเดียว ส่วนคดีแพ่งจะพิพากษาในภายหลังก็ได้
English translation
In trying the civil case, if the evidence already adduced in the criminal case is not yet sufficient, the court may summon further evidence to be taken. In such a case, the court may render judgment in the criminal case at once, and render judgment in the civil case afterwards.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 42 sits in Title 2 of Book 1, on civil actions connected with criminal cases. It gives the trial court two practical tools: it may take additional evidence where the record built for the criminal charge does not settle the civil issues, and it may split the timing of the two judgments, deciding guilt first and quantum of civil liability later. Read together with section 46, the design is that the civil part follows the facts found in the criminal judgment, so deciding the criminal case first is proper rather than a defect.
Why this matters in practice
For a claimant, the takeaway is that a verdict of guilt does not automatically end the money side of your case: the court may keep the civil part open to hear evidence on the value of your loss. Because the criminal finding drives the civil outcome, the strength of the prosecution's evidence matters to your compensation. If you are unsure how a joined civil claim will be timed, it is worth mapping the sequence before trial, and a short session on what to know before you go to court in Thailand can help set expectations.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 5106/2538 (1995)
Sections 42 and 46 are designed so the civil part follows the facts found in the criminal judgment; deciding the criminal case first, without waiting for the civil result, is lawful.
The Supreme Court held that no law requires the civil part to be tried and decided before the criminal part. Sections 42 and 46 contemplate the civil case waiting for and then following the criminal result, so a trial court that entered the criminal judgment first, without hearing the civil result, acted properly.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 1322/2511 (1968)
In a civil case connected with a criminal one, the court may separate the two, decide the criminal case at once and the civil later; withdrawal of the criminal charge does not extinguish the civil part.
Applying Section 42, the court confirmed its power to sever the criminal and civil parts and to give the criminal judgment at once while deciding the civil claim later. It followed that the plaintiff's withdrawal of the criminal charge did not cause the connected civil claim to lapse.
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 a Thai court decide the criminal case before the civil claim?
Yes. Under Section 42 the court may render the criminal judgment first and rule on the connected civil claim afterwards. No law requires the civil part to be decided first.
If the criminal charge is withdrawn, does the civil claim end too?
Not necessarily. Because the court may separate the two, withdrawing the criminal charge does not automatically extinguish the connected civil claim.