Section 74: Issuing an imprisonment warrant
Statutory text (Thai original)
ภายใต้บังคับแห่งมาตรา ๗๓ และ ๑๘๕ วรรค ๒ เมื่อผู้ใดต้องคำพิพากษาให้จำคุกหรือประหารชีวิตหรือจะต้องจำคุกแทนค่าปรับ ให้ศาลออกหมายจำคุกผู้นั้นไว้
English translation
Subject to Section 73 and Section 185 paragraph two, when any person is sentenced by judgment to imprisonment or to death, or is to serve imprisonment in lieu of a fine, the court shall issue an imprisonment warrant for that person.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified. Always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 74 governs the formal instrument by which a custodial sentence is carried into effect: the imprisonment warrant. It applies to sentences of imprisonment, to a death sentence, and to imprisonment served in lieu of an unpaid fine. The provision is expressly made subject to Section 73, which requires release where time in custody has already met the sentence during an appeal, and to Section 185 paragraph two, so the imprisonment warrant does not override those release situations. It sits within the chapter on detention, imprisonment, and release warrants, following the detention rules in Section 71 and the release rules in Sections 72 and 73.
Why this matters in practice
For a defendant this is the point at which a custodial sentence is turned into an enforceable order to hold the person in prison. Because it is made subject to Section 73 and Section 185 paragraph two, an imprisonment warrant should not issue, or should give way, where the time already served in custody equals the sentence during an appeal. The reference to imprisonment in lieu of a fine is a reminder that an unpaid fine can convert into jail time, so paying or arranging the fine matters. If a sentence has just been handed down and the family is unsure what happens next, early advice helps; you can arrange a consultation with a Thai lawyer.
Cited in 4 Supreme Court decisions (1954 to 2001)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 2782/2544 (2001)
- Decision 287/2525 (1982)
- Decision 1551/2497 (1954)
- Decision 886/2542 (1999)
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.
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
When does the court issue an imprisonment warrant?
Under Section 74, the court issues an imprisonment warrant when a person is sentenced to imprisonment or death, or must serve imprisonment in lieu of an unpaid fine, subject to the release rules in Section 73 and Section 185 paragraph two.
Can an unpaid fine lead to imprisonment?
Yes. Section 74 expressly covers imprisonment served in lieu of a fine, so a fine that is not paid can convert into jail time and an imprisonment warrant may be issued.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
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Plain citation
Criminal Procedure Code, s. 74 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Criminal Procedure Code (Thailand), s. 74. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-74/ (accessed 11 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.วิ.อ. มาตรา 74 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-74/ -
Embed on your site
<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-74/"><p>Subject to Section 73 and Section 185 paragraph two, when any person is sentenced by judgment to imprisonment or to death, or is to serve imprisonment in lieu of a fine, the court shall issue an imprisonment warrant for that person.</p><footer>Criminal Procedure Code, s. 74 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-74/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.