Section 7: Offences abroad punishable in Thailand without a request
Statutory text (Thai original)
ผู้ใดกระทำความผิดดังระบุไว้ต่อไปนี้นอกราชอาณาจักร จะต้องรับโทษในราชอาณาจักร คือ (๑) ความผิดเกี่ยวกับความมั่นคงแห่งราชอาณาจักร ตามที่บัญญัติไว้ในมาตรา ๑๐๗ ถึงมาตรา ๑๒๙ (๑/๑)[๑๑] ความผิดเกี่ยวกับการก่อการร้ายตามที่บัญญัติไว้ในมาตรา ๑๓๕/๑ มาตรา ๑๓๕/๒ มาตรา ๑๓๕/๓ และมาตรา ๑๓๕/๔ (๒) ความผิดเกี่ยวกับการปลอมและการแปลง ตามที่บัญญัติไว้ในมาตรา ๒๔๐ ถึงมาตรา ๒๔๙ มาตรา ๒๕๔ มาตรา ๒๕๖ มาตรา ๒๕๗ และมาตรา ๒๖๖ (๓) และ (๔) (๒ ทวิ)[๑๒] ความผิดเกี่ยวกับเพศตามที่บัญญัติไว้ในมาตรา ๒๘๒ และมาตรา ๒๘๓ (๓) ความผิดฐานชิงทรัพย์ ตามที่บัญญัติไว้ในมาตรา ๓๓๙ และความผิดฐานปล้นทรัพย์ ตามที่บัญญัติไว้ในมาตรา ๓๔๐ ซึ่งได้กระทำในทะเลหลวง
English translation
Whoever commits any of the following offences outside the Kingdom shall be punished within the Kingdom, namely:
(1) offences against the security of the Kingdom as provided in Section 107 to Section 129;
(1/1) offences relating to terrorism as provided in Section 135/1, Section 135/2, Section 135/3, and Section 135/4;
(2) offences relating to counterfeiting and alteration as provided in Section 240 to Section 249, Section 254, Section 256, Section 257, and Section 266(3) and (4);
(2 bis) sexual offences as provided in Section 282 and Section 283;
(3) the offence of robbery as provided in Section 339 and the offence of gang-robbery as provided in Section 340, where committed on the high seas.
ThaiLawOnline translation, written from the Thai original and verified
Firm annotation
Section 7 is the first of the two extraterritorial jurisdiction provisions and the stronger one, because it operates automatically. Unlike Section 8, it requires no request from the injured person or from the government of the country where the offence occurred, and it does not depend on the nationality of the offender or the victim. Anyone, of any nationality, who commits a listed offence anywhere in the world may be punished in Thailand. The list is short and deliberately so, covering interests the State treats as its own wherever they are attacked: the security of the Kingdom (Sections 107 to 129), terrorism (Sections 135/1 to 135/4), currency and instrument counterfeiting (Sections 240 to 249, 254, 256, 257, and the specific limbs 266(3) and (4)), procuring and trafficking for sexual purposes (Sections 282 and 283), and piracy in substance, being robbery under Section 339 and gang-robbery under Section 340 committed on the high seas. Note that limb (2 bis) is sexual offences; it is not an electronic card limb, and the electronic card and passport limbs belong to Section 8, at (2/1) and (2/2).
Why this matters in practice
The practical importance of Section 7 is that it needs no complaint to be triggered, so a prosecution can begin in Thailand on the initiative of the Thai authorities alone. The two limbs most likely to reach a foreign national are (2), counterfeiting, which covers the manufacture of counterfeit Thai currency abroad, and (2 bis), which reaches procuring and trafficking under Sections 282 and 283 committed outside Thailand. The high seas limb is narrow: it applies to robbery and gang-robbery only, and only on the high seas, not in another state's territorial waters. Where an offence falls outside this list, extraterritorial liability must be found under Section 8, which is conditional on nationality and on a request for punishment.
Cited in 33 Supreme Court decisions (1966 to 2018)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 1411/2554 (2011)
- Decision 8248/2551 (2008)
- Decision 9109/2549 (2006)
- Decision 3322/2548 (2005)
- Decision 915/2548 (2005)
- Decision 1021/2533 (1990)
- Decision 3323/2527 (1984)
- Decision 1579/2521 (1978)
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 91 25
- Section 90 17
- Section 78 16
- Section 72 14
- Section 83 13
- Section 8/2 11
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
Which offences can be punished in Thailand even if committed abroad?
Section 7 lists them: offences against the security of the Kingdom, terrorism, counterfeiting and alteration, electronic-card offences, certain sexual offences, and robbery or gang-robbery on the high seas.
Does Section 7 require a request from a foreign government or victim?
No. Unlike Section 8, Section 7 applies to its listed offences without any request from a foreign government or an injured person.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
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Plain citation
Penal Code, s. 7 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Penal Code (Thailand), s. 7. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-7/ (accessed 17 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.อ. มาตรา 7 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-7/ -
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<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-7/"><p>Whoever commits any of the following offences outside the Kingdom shall be punished within the Kingdom, namely: (1) offences against the security of the Kingdom as provided in Section 107 to Section 129; (1/1) offences relating to terrorism as provided in Section 135/1, Section 135/2,…</p><footer>Penal Code, s. 7 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-7/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.