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]

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

• Judiciary of Thailand

References

External links

• Judge Advocate General's Department