Section 82: Requesting help to execute a warrant
Statutory text (Thai original)
เจ้าพนักงานผู้จัดการตามหมายจับ จะขอความช่วยเหลือจากบุคคลใกล้เคียงเพื่อจัดการตามหมายนั้นก็ได้ แต่จะบังคับให้ผู้ใดช่วยโดยอาจเกิดอันตรายแก่เขานั้นไม่ได้
English translation
An officer executing an arrest warrant may request assistance from persons nearby in order to carry out that warrant, but may not compel any person to assist where doing so may cause danger to 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 82 sits in Chapter 1 (Arrest, Detention and Imprisonment) and defines the limit of an executing officer's power to enlist civilian help when carrying out an arrest warrant. It permits a request for assistance from persons in the vicinity but draws a firm line at compulsion where the helper would be exposed to danger. The provision complements the officer's own arrest powers under sections 83 and 84 and reflects the Code's general concern that coercive process not endanger uninvolved members of the public.
Why this matters in practice
In practice this section matters when police recruit citizens to help detain a fleeing suspect: you are entitled to assist but cannot lawfully be forced into a dangerous confrontation. Anyone unsure of their rights or duties when police request help, or facing an arrest, should get advice quickly through an online consultation with a Thai lawyer.
Cited in 3 Supreme Court decisions (1965 to 2007)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 9044/2550 (2007)
- Decision 1809/2545 (2002)
- Decision 1612/2508 (1965)
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
Can Thai police force me to help arrest someone?
Under Section 82, an officer executing an arrest warrant may ask you for help, but cannot compel you to assist if doing so would put you in danger.
Does Section 82 apply only to warrant arrests?
The text refers to an officer executing an arrest warrant, so it addresses the situation where the officer is acting under a warrant and seeks assistance from persons nearby.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
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Plain citation
Criminal Procedure Code, s. 82 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Criminal Procedure Code (Thailand), s. 82. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-82/ (accessed 11 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.วิ.อ. มาตรา 82 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-82/ -
Embed on your site
<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-82/"><p>An officer executing an arrest warrant may request assistance from persons nearby in order to carry out that warrant, but may not compel any person to assist where doing so may cause danger to that person.</p><footer>Criminal Procedure Code, s. 82 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-82/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.