The military courts of Thailand (Thai: ศาลทหาร; RTGS: san thahan) are judicial bodies with criminal jurisdiction over members of the Royal Thai Armed Forces and sometimes also over civilians as may be assigned by law,[1] as was the case from 25 May 2014 until 12 September 2016 following the 2014 Thai coup d'état.[2][3][4]
Unlike other courts in the judicial system of Thailand, military courts are subject to the Ministry of Defence and are operated by the military's Judge Advocate General's Department.[1]
Procedure
The current procedural law governing the military courts is the Military Court Organisation Act 1955 (Thai: พระราชบัญญัติธรรมนูญศาลทหาร พ.ศ. ๒๔๙๘).[1] The act allows the Judge Advocate General of Thailand (Thai: เจ้ากรมพระธรรมนูญ) to establish court regulations.[5] In wartime or during the imposition of martial law, military courts may adopt special procedures.[1]
Judges
Military court judges (Thai: ตุลาการ) are serving military officers of two types: "general judges" (Thai: ตุลาการปรกติ) and "judge-advocates" (Thai: ตุลาการพระธรรมนูญ).[1] General judges are officers for whom legal training is not a prerequisite. Judge-advocates are trained and accredited in the law.[1]
Structure
According to the Military Court Organisation Act 1955, military courts consist of three tiers: courts of first (trial court), second (appellate court), and third instance (final court of appeal).[1]
Name
|
Quorum
|
Notes
|
Military courts of first instance
|
Military province courts (Thai: ศาลจังหวัดทหาร)
|
|
- Established in every military province (Thai: จังหวัดทหาร), except provinces with Military Prefectural Commands (Thai: กองบัญชาการมณฑล)
- Empowered to exercise jurisdiction over members of the armed forces other than commissioned officers
|
Military prefecture courts (Thai: ศาลมณฑลทหาร)
|
- Established in every military prefecture (Thai: มณฑลทหาร), except the prefecture where the Bangkok Military Court is located
- Empowered to exercise jurisdiction over all members of the armed forces other than general officers
|
Bangkok Military Court (Thai: ศาลทหารกรุงเทพ)
|
Invested with unlimited jurisdiction
|
Military unit courts (Thai: ศาลประจำหน่วยทหาร)
|
Established within a military body of no fewer than 1,000 members outside Thailand
|
Military courts of second instance
|
Central Military Court (Thai: ศาลทหารกลาง)
|
|
|
Military courts of last resort
|
Supreme Military Court (Thai: ศาลทหารสูงสุด)
|
|
|
The act permits the establishment of special military courts, known as war crime courts (Thai: ศาลอาญาศึก), in time of war or during periods of martial law.[5]
See also
References
External links