Thailand's Legal System

This article is divided into two sections:

• (1) a brief overview of Thailand’s courts and legal system

• (2) the Practice of Law in Thailand, which looks at the prerequisites a person must achieve before applying to be licensed and registered as a lawyer, judge or public prosecutor in Thailand - read now...
  • Jump to subheading A
    Lawyers: Membership, Requirements, and Regulations
  • Jump to to subheading B
    Judges: Membership, Requirements and Regulations

I. A brief overview

1. The present Constitution, the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand B.E. 2540 (AD 1997), was drafted by the Constitution Drafting Assembly composed of members selected from each province throughout the country as well as academics in public law, politics, and public administration, for a total of 99 members. It was the first time the Thai people had an opportunity to draft the entire Constitution on their own.

2. The establishment of the Constitutional Court and the Administrative Court resulted from the provisions of the current Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand B.E. 2540 (AD 1997).

3. The general court is an ordinary court which has the duty to try and adjudicate criminal and civil cases and consists of Civil Courts, Criminal Courts, Provincial Courts, and Kwang Courts.

4. At present, there are four types of specialized courts: the Labor Court, the Tax Court, the Intellectual Property and International Trade Court, and the Bankruptcy Court.

5. The Courts of Appeal and the Supreme (Dika) Court are not trial courts and, as a general rule, no new evidence can be introduced after a trial in a Court of First Instance has been completed unless these courts so order. Appeal Court and Dika (Supreme) Court appeals are based on questions of law and, to a limited extent, questions of fact. In civil actions involving Baht 50,000 or less, no appeal can be made on a question of fact, unless one of the Court of First Instance judges dissents or certifies that reasonable grounds exist for the Appeal Court to consider questions of fact. In civil actions involving Baht 200,000 or less, no Dika (Supreme) Court appeal can be made on a question of fact, unless one of the Appeal Court judges dissents or certifies that reasonable grounds exist for the Dika (Supreme) Court to consider questions of fact. Thailand generally follows the civil law system. However, one must realize that Thailand belongs to the civil law system only by the fact of its codification. The contents of the codes are as varied as the major legal systems of the world.

II. THE PRACTICE OF LAW IN THAILAND

(A) Thai Lawyers: Membership, Requirements, and Regulations, which discusses the requirements for candidates who want to practice law in Thailand.

(B) Thai Judges: Membership, Requirements and Regulations, which explores the requirements and conditions a candidate must meet in order to become a judge in Thailand.

(C) Thai Public Prosecutors: Membership, Requirements and Regulations, which explores the requirements and conditions a candidate must meet in order to become a public prosecutor in Thailand.

A. Lawyers: Membership, Requirements, and Regulations

The Lawyers Act B.E. 2528 (AD 1985) defines a lawyer as “a person who has been registered as a lawyer, and a license has been issued to him or her by the Law Society of Thailand.” Therefore, no one can become a lawyer or practice law in Thailand without an education in law, registration, and a license to practice. Unlike the United Kingdom, lawyers in Thailand are not divided into barristers and solicitors, nor are they required to pass a bar examination as they would be in the United States.

The Law Society of Thailand operates to promote, educate, and supervise its members. To become a member of the Law Society of Thailand, an individual must meet certain educational requirements and be a lawyer as defined in the Lawyers Act. Educational requirements for membership in the Law Society of Thailand are that a candidate must have obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in law (LL.B) or an Associate Degree in law or a certificate in law equivalent to a Bachelor’s.

Further, the individual must also be a member of the Thai Bar Association. To be registered and to obtain a lawyer’s license, in most cases the candidate must complete training in professional ethics and the basic principles of advocacy and the legal profession. The training course, run by the Institute of Law Practice Training of the Law Society of Thailand, is usually divided into two terms. In the first term, the candidate has to learn the theory of case conduct and professional ethics for not less than 90 hours. In the second term, he/she must practice working in a qualified law office for at least six months. An examination will be held at the end of each term. After completion of the training course, a candidate may apply for membership in the Law Society of Thailand.10 An exception to the training course is given to candidates who have been an apprentice in a law firm for over a year and have passed an examination specified by the Board of Governors of the Law Society of Thailand.

Being a member of the Law Society of Thailand means a lawyer (member) must abide by the code of ethics, called the Regulation of the Law Society of Thailand on Lawyer’s Ethics B.E. 2529 (AD 1986), which is overseen and supervised by the Committee on Professional Ethics.

The types of professional and ethical conduct described are:

a) ethical conduct in court and towards the court, which generally means a lawyer can not refuse to represent a defendant when asked to do so by a judge in a criminal case UNLESS the lawyer has a justifiable reason, or act in any way that shows disrespect to the court, or act in contempt of court or to a judge, and/or cooperate directly or indirectly to forge documents or evidence.

b) towards the client: a lawyer can not encourage litigation without justifiable cause, threaten and/or mislead the client, and/or make false promises and/or reveal client’s secrets and/or abandon a case intentionally.

c) towards fellow lawyers: a lawyer can not try to take another lawyer’s client UNLESS there is consent by the previous lawyer. Please see below under Section III the classes of membership in the Thai Bar Association.

d) towards litigants in general: a lawyer can not make promises to people or pay them to bring in clients or to advertise legal service fees, or to advertise in a boastful way names, qualifications, position, residence, or office.

e) personal behavior: a lawyer should not behave contrary to good morals or jeopardize the good name of the legal profession.

f) appropriate attire: a lawyer shall dress modestly. A male lawyer shall wear suits of solid and somber colors (e.g. white, black, gray, blue); a female lawyer shall wear dresses in modest solid colors.

All members of the Law Society of Thailand must abide by the above Regulations. A breach constitutes professional misconduct. If any lawyer violates any of the professional ethics prescribed under the said Regulations, it may result in any of the three types of penalties: probation, suspension of practice not exceeding three years, or deletion of name from register.

A lawyer’s license is usually valid for 2 years from the date of issuance. Such a license can be renewed within 90 days prior to its expiration. To avoid periodic renewal, lawyers may apply for a “lifetime membership”.

Regarding termination of a lawyer, the following matters can result in a lawyer’s losing membership in the Law Society of Thailand:

(1) death;
(2) notification of termination of practice;
(3) failure to renew lawyer’s license;
(4) removal of name from register; or
(5) disbarment

Generally, when a charge of professional misconduct is filed against any particular lawyer, the Committee on Professional Ethics will appoint an investigation team consisting of not less than 3 lawyers to investigate the case, and if they decide that the charge is a valid one, the case will be sent before the Disciplinary Committee consisting of at least 9 of its members. If the Disciplinary Committee decides that the facts established constitute unethical conduct, the Disciplinary Committee, with an order from the Board of Governors of the Law Society of Thailand, is empowered to decide and order according to the gravity of the offence, parole, suspension of practice for not more than 3 years, or deletion of name from register.

B. Judges: Membership, Requirements and Regulations

The present Thai Constitution requires that case hearings shall be conducted by a full quorum of judges as prescribed under the applicable laws. Thai judges are governed by the Regulation of the Judicial Service Act B.E. 2543 (AD 2000). The Judicial Service Commission is the governing body responsible for the appointment, promotion, transfer, and removal of judges, and has disciplinary power over them.

Generally, there are three kinds of examination for a candidate who wants to be a judge trainee: an open examination, a knowledge test, and a special selection exam. To apply for examination, a candidate must meet the following qualifications:

(a) holds Thai nationality.
(b) be not less than 25 years of age.
(c) upholds the democratic regime according to the Constitution with good faith.
(d) be an ordinary member of the Thai Bar Association.
(e) not having ignominious or immoral conduct.
(f) not being insolvent.
(g) not being under suspension or having temporarily resigned pursuant to the Regulation of the Judicial Service Act or other laws.
(h) not having been expelled, dismissed or removed from official service, any state agency or state enterprise.
(i) not being imprisoned by a final judgment, except for an offence committed through negligence or as a result of a petty offense.
(j) not being incompetent or a quasi-incompetent person, or a person of unsound mind or mental disorder or having a body or mental condition inappropriate for being a judge, or having a disease, as prescribed by the Regulation of the Judicial Service Commission.
(k) having passed physical and mental examinations by a committee of doctors, consisting of not less than three; the report of such committee shall be approved by the Judicial Service Commission. In addition, each candidate for an open examination shall obtain education and work
experience as follows:

Under Section 36 of the Regulation of the Judicial Service Act B.E. 2543 (AD 2000), the Judicial Service Commission shall consist of:

(1) the President of the Supreme Court, as chairman;

(2) 12 qualified members of all levels of Courts, four persons from each level (i.e., the Supreme Court, the Appeal Court and the Court of First Instance); and

(3) 2 qualified members who are not and were not judicial officials and who are elected by the Senate.

For the knowledge test, a candidate shall have education and work experience as follows:

(1) having passed the Institute of Legal Education of Thai Bar Association examination.

(2) having one of the following qualifications:

a) having a law degree or certificate from a foreign country, with a curriculum of not less than three years, not lower than Bachelor’s Degree (compared and approved by the Judicial Service Commission), or having a Ph.D. in the field of law from a Thai university accredited by the Judicial Service Commission.

b) having a law degree or certificate from a foreign country, with a curriculum of not less than two years, or combined curricula being not less than two years, not lower than Bachelor’s Degree (compared and approved by the Judicial Service Commission), and having not less than one year experience in the legal profession prescribed by the Judicial Service Commission.

c) having a Master’s Degree in law (LL.M.). from a Thai university accredited by the Judicial Service Commission and having not less than one year experience in the legal profession prescribed by the Judicial Service Commission.

d) having a Bachelor’s Degree in law (LL.B.), with honors and having been a lecturer in law in a public university for not less than five years.

e) having a Bachelor’s Degree in law (LL.B.), having been an official of the Office of the Courts of Justice in the field of law, prescribed by the Judicial Service Commission, for not less than six years, and having good conduct approved by the Secretary-General of the Office of the Courts of Justice.

f) having a Master’s Degree or Ph.D. in a field prescribed by the Judicial Service Commission, having a Bachelor’s Degree in law (LL.B.)., and having not less than three years experience in the legal profession or other professions prescribed by the Judicial Service Commission.

g) having a Bachelor’s Degree or its equivalent in a field prescribed by the Judicial Service Commission, having not less than ten years experience.

For special selection consideration, a candidate shall have the following qualifications:

(1) having one of the following:

a) being or having been in the past, a Professor or Deputy Professor in a public university.

b) being or having been in the past, a lecturer in law in a public university for not less than five years.

c) being or having been in the past, a government official not lower than director or equivalent.

d) being or having been in the past, a lawyer for not less than ten years.

(2) having passed the Institute of Legal Education of Thai Bar Association examination.

(3) having excellent knowledge and experience in the field of law, as prescribed by the Judicial Service Commission.

(4) being honest, and having appropriate personality, conduct and attitude for at least one year. After completion of training and if results are satisfactory, a judge-trainee will be approved by the Judicial Service Commission, and tendered to the King for royal appointment to be a judge attach to the court

The ways in which a judge can be terminated are as follows:

(1) death.
(2) resignation.
(3) vacating the office under law on government pension fund.
(4) transfer to serve in a position as a government official, and not in a judicial position.
(5) resignation for military service.
(6) being formally instructed to resign.
(7) being expelled, dismissed, or removed from office.
(8) the Senate passes a resolution for removal from office

To apply for an examination as a public prosecutor-trainee, a candidate must meet the following qualifications:

(1) (a) having a Bachelor’s Degree in law (LL.B.)., or having a law degree or certificate from a foreign country, not lower than a Bachelor’s Degree (compared and approved by the Public Prosecutor Commission).

(b) having passed the examination of the Institute of Legal Education of Thai
Bar Association.

(c) having not less than two years experience as a judicial official, registrar, deputy registrar, official receiver, executing officer, probation officer, officer of the Judge Advocate General Department, lawyer, or other legal profession prescribed by the Public Prosecutor Commission.

(2) being of Thai nationality.

(3) being not less than 25 years of age.

(4) upholding the democratic regime according to the Constitution with good faith.

(5) being an ordinary member of the Thai Bar Association.

(6) not having ignominious or immoral conduct.

The ways in which a public prosecutor can be terminated are as follows:

(1) death.

(2) vacating the office under the law on government pension fund.

(3) resignation.

(4) transfer to serve as a government official.

(5) resignation for military service.

(6) being instructed to resign.

(7) being expelled, dismissed, or removed from office up by the Law Society of Thailand.

Memberships of the Thai Bar Association are of different classes: Ordinary membership, Extraordinary membership, Associate membership, Auxiliary membership, and Honorary membership. Only a student who passes the bar examination will be eligible to be an ordinary member of the Thai Bar Association. The Extraordinary and Associate memberships are for any law graduate who passes a lawyer examination held by the Law Society of Thailand. Auxiliary membership is for a student in the Institute of Legal Education of the Thai Bar Association. Honorary membership is given to any distinguished person with extensive knowledge of legal or political science.