Criminal
Codified Criminal Code with lese-majeste and severe narcotics penalties
The 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.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Courts of First Instance hear criminal matters, with specialised courts for narcotics and juveniles. Military courts handled civilian cases during periods of martial law.
Governing law
- Criminal Code B.E. 24991956
- Criminal Procedure Code B.E. 24771934
- Narcotics Code B.E. 25642021
In practice
The 2021 Narcotics Code consolidated drug law and shifted emphasis toward treatment for users, and cannabis was removed from the narcotics list in 2022, creating a regulatory gap that successive governments have moved to close. Bail is discretionary and refusals are common in political cases, so pre-trial detention operates as a significant sanction in itself. Suspects have a right to counsel and to have a lawyer present during interrogation, and confessions obtained by inducement are inadmissible. Private persons may initiate criminal prosecutions directly, which makes criminal defamation a practical litigation risk for journalists and researchers.