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Laws in Thailand

Thailand is a civil law country and the law is codified and works from the top general written law down. Codification of the law means that the law is not made by judges or courts and Thailand does not know case law (or judge made law). A court cannot rule against laws and statutes (legislative acts), but a court/ judge must interpret the words and sections of the written law and therefore, depending on interpretation of the law, the meaning or significance of written laws is determined in individual cases. Below a selection of laws in Thailand

Note: only laws in Thai, as published in the royal Thai government gazette, (ราชกิจจานุเบกษา) shall has legal force in Thailand, translations are for reference purposes only.

Learning: setting up a business in Thailand

Under the 'Alien Business Act B.E. 2542 (A.D.1999)' of Thailand foreigners are prohibited from engaging in most business categories in Thailand unless an alien business operation permit is obtained from the Director-General of the Department of Commercial Registration with the approval of the Alien Business Committee. A 'Foreign Business License' can in principle only be granted for business categories listed in list 3 of the Alien Business Act

Learning: lease and rental in Thailand

Whether the contract is called rental, tenancy, lease or leasehold such agreements in Thailand are governed by the civil and commercial code, chapter 'rent of property'. Any agreement whereby the owner of a property agrees to let another person have the use of the property for a limited period of time and the other party agrees to pay rent therefore must be read as a rent of property contract between a tenant and a lessor

Learning, consequences of marriage in Thailand

A marriage in Thailand will have legal consequences for you and your spouse. Such consequences (e.g. obligation of maintenance towards each other, legal relationship with children born,consequences for property you own) can be found in the Civil and Commercial Code of Thailand (ประมวลกฎหมายแพ่งและพาณิชย์) which is the the main body of laws that deals with the legal consequences of Family and Marriage in Thailand.

Learning, land ownership laws in Thailand

Thai property law is based on European civil law real estate law. Thai property law is Western and relatively straightforward and easy to understand. What makes buying real estate in Thailand different and more complicated for non-Thai nationals is that Thai land laws prohibit foreigners from owning land making it impossible for foreigners to obtain outright ownership over land and houses in Thailand. Below a few basic questions and answers related to foreign land ownership limitations