Section 46: Bond to keep the peace, including environmental harm
Statutory text (Thai original)
ถ้าความปรากฏแก่ศาลตามข้อเสนอของพนักงานอัยการว่าผู้ใดจะก่อเหตุร้ายให้เกิดภยันตรายแก่บุคคลหรือทรัพย์สินของผู้อื่น หรือจะกระทำการใดให้เกิดความเสียหายแก่สิ่งแวดล้อมหรือทรัพยากรธรรมชาติตามกฎหมายเกี่ยวกับสิ่งแวดล้อมและทรัพยากรธรรมชาติ ในการพิจารณาคดีความผิดใด ไม่ว่าศาลจะลงโทษผู้ถูกฟ้องหรือไม่ก็ตาม เมื่อมีเหตุอันควรเชื่อว่าผู้ถูกฟ้องน่าจะก่อเหตุร้ายให้เกิดภยันตรายแก่บุคคลหรือทรัพย์สินของผู้อื่น หรือจะกระทำความผิดให้เกิดความเสียหายแก่สิ่งแวดล้อมหรือทรัพยากรธรรมชาติตามกฎหมายเกี่ยวกับสิ่งแวดล้อมและทรัพยากรธรรมชาติ ให้ศาลมีอำนาจที่จะสั่งผู้นั้นให้ทำทัณฑ์บนโดยกำหนดจำนวนเงินไม่เกินกว่าห้าหมื่นบาทว่าผู้นั้นจะไม่ก่อเหตุร้ายหรือจะไม่กระทำความผิดดังกล่าวแล้วตลอดเวลาที่ศาลกำหนด แต่ไม่เกินสองปี และจะสั่งให้มีประกันด้วยหรือไม่ก็ได้ ถ้าผู้นั้นไม่ยอมทำทัณฑ์บนหรือหาประกันไม่ได้ ให้ศาลมีอำนาจสั่งกักขังผู้นั้นจนกว่าจะทำทัณฑ์บนหรือหาประกันได้ แต่ไม่ให้กักขังเกินกว่าหกเดือน หรือจะสั่งห้ามผู้นั้นเข้าในเขตกำหนดตามมาตรา ๔๕ ก็ได้ การกระทำของผู้ซึ่งมีอายุต่ำกว่าสิบแปดปีมิให้อยู่ในบังคับแห่งบทบัญญัติตามมาตรานี้
English translation
If it appears to the court, on the proposal of the public prosecutor, that any person is likely to commit an act of mischief causing danger to the person or to the property of another, or to do any act causing damage to the environment or to natural resources under the law relating to the environment and natural resources; or if, in the trial of any offence, whether or not the court imposes punishment on the person prosecuted, there is reasonable cause to believe that the person prosecuted is likely to commit an act of mischief causing danger to the person or to the property of another, or to commit an offence causing damage to the environment or to natural resources under the law relating to the environment and natural resources, the court has the power to order that person to enter into a bond, fixing a sum of money not exceeding fifty thousand baht, that the person will not commit such an act of mischief or such an offence throughout the period fixed by the court, which must not exceed two years; and the court may or may not require security to be given.
If that person refuses to enter into the bond, or cannot find security, the court has the power to order that person to be detained until the bond is entered into or security is found, but the detention must not exceed six months; or the court may order that person to be prohibited from entering the zone designated under Section 45.
The act of a person under eighteen years of age is not subject to the provisions of this Section.
ThaiLawOnline translation, written from the Thai original and verified
Firm annotation
Section 46 provides a preventive peace bond as a measure of safety, and it is reached by two routes. The first is on the proposal of the public prosecutor, where it appears to the court that a person is likely to commit an act of mischief causing danger to the person or property of another, or to do an act causing damage to the environment or to natural resources under the law relating to the environment and natural resources. The second is in the trial of any offence, whether or not the court punishes the person prosecuted, where there is reasonable cause to believe the same of that person. The bond sum is capped at fifty thousand baht and the period at two years, and the court may or may not require security. The section builds in an enforcement mechanism: refusal to enter the bond, or inability to find security, allows detention until the bond is entered into or security found, but not exceeding six months, or, as an alternative, prohibition from entering the zone designated under Section 45 (Section 44 is only the definition of what such a prohibition is). The final paragraph excludes the act of a person under eighteen from the whole Section, not merely from its first paragraph, so a minor can be neither ordered to enter into the bond nor detained for refusing one nor zone-prohibited under it. This is a forward-looking measure aimed at prevention, distinct from punishment for a completed offence.
Why this matters in practice
A peace bond is preventive: it does not require a completed offence, only reason to believe future danger is likely, so it can come on the public prosecutor's proposal or be ordered in the trial of an offence whether or not the defendant is punished. The real exposure on refusing the bond, or on being unable to find security, is detention of up to six months or a prohibition on entering the zone designated under Section 45, so complying with a modest bond is usually preferable to contesting it into custody. If the person concerned is under eighteen the Section does not apply at all, not merely its first paragraph, so no bond, no detention for refusing one, and no zone prohibition can be imposed under it. Where a bond order affects you, consult a Thai lawyer on whether to accept the bond or challenge the grounds.
Cited in 18 Supreme Court decisions (1979 to 2024)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 6736/2558 (2015)
- Decision 7084/2547 (2004)
- Decision 781/2567 (2024)
- Decision 7982/2548 (2005)
- Decision 6463/2543 (2000)
- Decision 2380/2539 (1996)
- Decision 2984/2543 (2000)
- Decision 2183/2533 (1990)
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.
Most often cited alongside
- Section 33 12
- Section 78 11
- Section 91 9
- Section 29 9
- Section 30 9
- Section 90 7
Sections that appear in the same judgments as this one most often. The figure is the number of decisions.
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
What is the maximum peace bond under Section 46?
The bond sum may not exceed fifty thousand baht and the period may not exceed two years.
What happens if a person refuses the bond?
Under Section 46 the court may detain the person until the bond is entered into, for up to six months, or instead order prohibition from a designated zone.
Does the peace bond apply to minors?
No, and the exclusion covers the whole Section, not just the first paragraph. The final sentence of Section 46 provides that the act of a person under eighteen years of age is not subject to the provisions of this Section, so a minor can be neither ordered to enter into the bond nor detained until a bond is given nor prohibited from a designated zone under it.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
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Plain citation
Penal Code, s. 46 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Penal Code (Thailand), s. 46. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-46/ (accessed 6 September 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.อ. มาตรา 46 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-46/ -
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<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-46/"><p>If it appears to the court, on the proposal of the public prosecutor, that any person is likely to commit an act of mischief causing danger to the person or to the property of another, or to do any act causing damage to the environment…</p><footer>Penal Code, s. 46 (Thailand): <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-46/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.