Supreme Court of Thailand

Historically, there was no Supreme Court in Thailand, as the Thai monarch considered all disputes, being the only supreme judicial body ^[2] . Citizens, citizens appealed directly to the king when he followed his route on the way to the palace. Such a system existed in Thailand before the beginning of the Rattanakosin era , the reign of King Mongkuta (Rama IV) ^[3] .

During the reign of King Rama V , a Citizen Appeals Office was established in the Palace, and in 1891 the King established the Ministry of Justice. The Judges Act of 1909 was also adopted during the reign of Rama V. The new law defines the Supreme Court as the highest court in the country, after which the king was more appealed ^[4]

After the Siamese revolution of 1932, Thailand switched to a democratic constitutional form of government. To amend the 1909 Judicial Law, a new 1934 Judicial Law was adopted. Under the new law, the courts were divided into three levels: the court of first instance, the court of appeal and the Supreme Court .

The Supreme Court of Thailand is the highest court of appeal in all civil and criminal matters throughout the kingdom. The decision of the Supreme Court in all cases is final.

A party that disputes decisions made by the courts of first instance, the Court of Appeal or the Court of Appeal of the regions has the right to appeal the decision of a lower court in accordance with the conditions and circumstances, as required by law.

Specialized laws, such as laws on labor, tax, intellectual property and international trade, allow parties to appeal the decisions of specialized courts directly to the Supreme Court.

The Court includes a president, vice-presidents, a secretary and a number of judges. In the modern legal system, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is also the head of the courts of justice.

The quorum is at least three judges of the Supreme Court. Currently, the Supreme Court divides judges within the country into 25 quorums. There are three judges in each quorum.

The Supreme Court has ten branches for specialized cases, namely:

• Juvenile and Family Office
• Department of Labor
• Tax Office
• Department of Intellectual Property and International Trade , including copyright issues
• Bankruptcy department
• Department of Politicians
• Department of Trade and Economics
• Department of Environmental Protection
• Consumer branch
• Election Office

The Political Affairs Division in the Supreme Court is a new unit created in accordance with the Kingdom of Thailand Constitution BE 2540 (1997) to try the prime minister, members of the House of Representatives, senators or other political figures.

In addition, in 2017, three new branches were created that dealt with issues of human trafficking, corruption and unlawful behavior of state officials, as well as issues related to drugs.

There are nine judges in the specialized branches appointed by the chairman of the Supreme Court, and one chief or presiding judge who oversees the work of the branch. The decision is made by a majority of the judges.

After considering the appeal of the lower court decision, the Supreme Court will appoint the judges and the chairman of the process. This procedure often takes approximately 15 days. However, there are special cases where the consideration of a case involves an issue: intellectual property, taxes, bankruptcy or international trade. In addition, criminal cases in which defendants are in custody. Such cases have priority and are considered primarily ^[5] . A trial , when the Supreme Court provides an opportunity for the plaintiff and defendant to bring facts and evidence in the case, can take from several months to the final decision in the case, which the judges take.

After that, the court imposes a sentence, or order on the decision. Then, the research department can verify the decision, or approve it. This process can take up to one month. The procedure ends with the transfer of the case file by the Supreme Court to the court of first instance, in which they pronounce the final decision.

• Thai judicial system
• Official site
• Three special court divisions