Section 2 — No punishment without law
English translation
A person shall be criminally punished only when the act done was, at the time of doing it, provided by law to be an offence and a penalty was fixed for it, and the penalty to be imposed on the offender must be a penalty provided by law.
If, according to the provisions of a law enacted afterwards, such an act is no longer an offence, the person who did that act shall cease to be an offender; and if a final judgment of conviction has been rendered, that person shall be deemed never to have been convicted of that offence; and if the person is still undergoing the penalty, the punishment shall come to an end.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 2 is the foundational legality rule of the Penal Code (nullum crimen, nulla poena sine lege). Paragraph one bars punishment unless both the offence and its penalty were fixed by law in force at the time of the act, and confines the court to penalties the law provides. Paragraph two states the retroactive effect of decriminalization: where a later law abolishes the offence, the offender is cleared, a final conviction is deemed never to have occurred, and an ongoing penalty stops. It sits alongside Section 3, which governs the different situation where a later law changes but does not abolish the offence, requiring the more favourable law to apply.
Why this matters in practice
This section is the strongest structural defence in Thai criminal law: if the conduct was not an offence when done, or the exact penalty was not provided by law, there can be no valid conviction. Paragraph two matters when the legislature later removes an offence, as happened when cannabis was de-scheduled: pending cases must be dismissed and completed convictions wiped. Note that paragraph two applies only to true abolition of the offence, not to a mere reduction or reshaping of the penalty, which is handled under Section 3. Where a recent legal change may affect a charge, confirm exactly what the earlier and later laws provided before assuming the case is over.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 1225/2567 (2024)
Where a later measure removes the criminality of an act (here, cannabis ceasing to be a scheduled narcotic), Section 2 paragraph two means the act is no longer an offence and the court may reverse and dismiss the charge.
After a Ministry of Public Health notification removed cannabis from the narcotics schedule, the Supreme Court held that producing and possessing cannabis were no longer offences under Section 2 paragraph two, and that the appellate court could dismiss those charges.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 2361/2567 (2024)
Section 2 paragraph two applies only where a later law makes the act no longer an offence; it does not authorize reopening a final judgment to alter a penalty enhancement.
The Supreme Court held that a request to alter a penalty enhancement after the case was final did not fall within Section 2 paragraph two, because no later law had abolished the offence, so the final judgment could not be reopened on that basis.
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 I be punished for something that was legal when I did it?
No. Under Section 2, a person can be punished only if the act was an offence with a fixed penalty under a law in force at the time it was committed.
What happens to my conviction if the offence is later abolished?
Under Section 2 paragraph two, if a later law abolishes the offence you cease to be an offender, a final conviction is treated as if it never occurred, and any penalty still being served ends.
Does Section 2 apply if the penalty is just reduced?
No. Paragraph two applies only when the offence itself is abolished. A change or reduction of the penalty is dealt with under Section 3, which applies the more favourable law.