The legal system of Thailand
A civil-law system created by choice rather than conquest: never colonised, Siam codified between 1908 and 1935 using French, German, Swiss and Japanese models to secure the abolition of extraterritorial consular jurisdiction. The Civil and Commercial Code of 1925 remains the core private-law instrument, and the Penal Code dates from 1956. Constitutional instability is the defining feature of Thai public law — the country has had twenty constitutions since 1932, and the current text was adopted after the 2014 coup.
Legal tradition
Thailand belongs to the civil law tradition. A civil-law system created by choice rather than conquest: never colonised, Siam codified between 1908 and 1935 using French, German, Swiss and Japanese models to secure the abolition of extraterritorial consular jurisdiction. The Civil and Commercial Code of 1925 remains the core private-law instrument, and the Penal Code dates from 1956. Constitutional instability is the defining feature of Thai public law — the country has had twenty constitutions since 1932, and the current text was adopted after the 2014 coup.
How power is divided
Unitary and centralised, with 76 provinces headed by appointed governors plus Bangkok, which elects its own governor. Pattaya has a special administrative status. Local administrative organisations exist at municipal and sub-district level with limited functions, and the deep south provinces are subject to special security legislation.
Where law comes from
- The Constitution of 2017
- Supreme; reviewed and enforced by the Constitutional Court.
- Acts of Parliament and Royal Decrees
- Primary legislation; decrees issued under statutory authority.
- The Civil and Commercial Code 1925
- Core of private law, largely unamended in structure.
- Emergency decrees
- Issued by the Cabinet in urgent cases, requiring later parliamentary approval.
- Supreme Court decisions
- Not formally binding but followed in practice and published as guidance.
The legal profession
Lawyers are licensed by the Lawyers Council of Thailand under the Lawyers Act 1985 after a law degree and the ethics course; a separate and much harder Thai Bar Association examination is required for judicial and prosecutorial careers. Notarial services are performed by lawyers holding a notarial services attorney licence. Foreign lawyers may not appear in Thai courts and foreign ownership of law firms is restricted under the Foreign Business Act.
Law by topic in Thailand
- Property & LandForeigners cannot own land, but may own up to 49 percent of a condominium buildingThe Land Code prohibits foreign land ownership save for narrow investment exceptions. Foreigners may own condominium units outright, subject to a 49 percent cap on foreign ownership of the total floor area of each building.
- Constitutional LawA 2017 constitution written after a coup, with an appointed senate roleThailand's twentieth constitution since 1932 was promulgated in 2017 following the 2014 coup. It created a Constitutional Court and independent agencies with broad power to remove elected officials, and gave an appointed Senate a role in selecting the prime minister until 2024.
- Criminal LawCodified Criminal Code with lese-majeste and severe narcotics penaltiesThe Criminal Code of 1956 defines offences and penalties. The death penalty remains for murder and major drug offences though executions are rare, and section 112 lese-majeste prosecutions carry three to fifteen years per count.
- Business & CorporateForeign Business Act restricts foreign majority ownership in listed activitiesThe Civil and Commercial Code governs companies, but the Foreign Business Act is the gating statute: it reserves three schedules of activities, so a company more than 49 percent foreign-owned needs a licence or a treaty route to operate in them.
- Immigration & NationalityWork permit plus Non-B visa, with a 4:1 Thai-to-foreign staffing ratioEmployment requires both a Non-Immigrant B visa and a work permit under the Foreign Working Management Emergency Decree. Employers generally must maintain four Thai employees per foreign worker and registered capital of two million baht per permit.
- Family LawCivil and Commercial Code family rules, with marriage equality from January 2025Book V of the Civil and Commercial Code governs marriage, divorce and children. The Marriage Equality Act, effective 22 January 2025, replaced gendered terms with neutral ones, making Thailand the first Southeast Asian state with full same-sex marriage.
- Tax Law20 percent corporate rate, progressive personal rates to 35 percent, 7 percent VATThe Revenue Code sets a 20 percent corporate rate with reduced rates for small companies, personal rates to 35 percent, and VAT at 7 percent under a rate reduction repeatedly extended from the statutory 10 percent.
- Employment & LabourLabour Protection Act severance scaling to 400 days after twenty yearsThe Labour Protection Act sets hours, leave and termination rules. Statutory severance rises with service to a maximum of 400 days' wages at twenty years, which is among the most generous in the region.
- Civil ProcedureInquisitorial civil trials with no jury and continuous-hearing reformsThe Civil Procedure Code governs private litigation before professional judges; there is no civil jury. Cases proceed through pleadings, a settlement conference and hearings that reforms have pushed toward continuous rather than scattered sittings.
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