Thailand


Unofficial Translation (Excerpt from: )

Section 4:

"unusual increase of assets" means the phenomenon where the assets and liabilities listed in the account showing assets and liabilities submitted by the person holding a political position upon vacation of office differ from the account showing assets and liabilities submitted at the time of taking office, in the manner that the assets unusually increase or liabilities unusually decrease;

"unusual wealth" means having an unusually large quantity of assets, having an unusual increase of assets, having an unusual decrease of liabilities or having illegitimate acquisition of assets in a consequence of the performance of duties or the exercise of power in office or in the course of duty.


Section 58:

When it appears that any person holding any of the following positions is under the circumstance of unusual wealth or under circumstances indicative of the commission of corruption, malfeasance in office, malfeasance in judicial office, an intentional exercise of power contrary to the Constitution or the law or serious violation or failure to comply with ethical standards, the Senate has the power to initiate the removal of such person from office in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter:

(1) Prime Minister;
(2) Minister;
(3) Member of the House of Representatives;
(4) Senator;
(5) President of the Supreme Court of Justice;
(6) President of the Constitutional Court;
(7) President of the Supreme Administrative Court;
(8) Prosecutor-General;
(9) judge of the Constitutional Court;
(10) Election Commissioner;
(11) Ombudsman;
(12) member of the State Audit Commission;
(13) State Audit Governor;
(14) Vice President of the Supreme Court of Justice;
(15) Vice President of the Supreme Administrative Court;
(16) Chief of the Military Judicial Office;
(17) Deputy Prosecutor-General;
(18) judge or prosecutor as prescribed by a publication of the NACC; (19) person holding a high-raking position or person holding an equivalent position.


Section 75:

In the case where an allegation is made that any person holding a political position or any state official has become unusually wealthy, the person making the allegation shall submit the allegation to the NACC at the time the alleged culprit is a state official or has ceased to be a state official for, not more than five years, and the NACC shall conduct a preliminary determination as to whether the circumstances or the matter specified in the allegation falls within the competence of the NACC. If the alleged culprit is a person who has already submitted an account showing particulars of assets and liabilities, the NACC shall also take such account into consideration.

In the case where a person holding a political position or state official has vacated the political office or has ceased to be a state official for more than five years, the allegation under paragraph one against the person holding a political position or state official may not be made, but without prejudice to the powers of the NACC to proceed to with inquiry on the allegation having been made or if there is a reasonable cause to suspect that a person holding a political position or state officials unusual wealthy. However, the NACC shall not proceed after ten years as from the date a person holding a political position orstate official vacated the political office or ceased to be a state official, as the case may be.


Section 77:

In the case where the allegation meets the requirements in section 75 or the in case where there is a reasonable cause to suspect that a person holding a political position or a state official has become unusually wealthy, the NACC shall proceed in accordance with Chapter 4, Fact Inquiry.

Section 78:

In the case where the NACC discovers that any property of the alleged culprit is connected with the unusual wealth and is under the circumstance convincingly indicative of the possibility of its transfer, move, transformation or concealment, the NACC shall have the power to issue an order of temporary seizure or attachment of that property, without prejudice to the right of the alleged culprit to submit an application for taking such property for use with or without bail or security.

When there occurs a temporary seizure or attachment of the property under paragraph one, the NACC shall cause to be conducted proof of the property without delay. In the case where the alleged culprit is unable to present evidence that the property under temporary seizure or attachment is not connected with the unusual wealth, the NACC shall have the power to continue its seizure or attachment until the NACC passes a resolution that the allegation has no prima facie case, which must be within one year as from the date of the seizure or attachment or until the Court passes a final judgment dismissing that case. But, if the proof is successful, the property shall be returned to such person.


Section 80:

If the NACC has conducted a fact inquiry and passed a resolution that the alleged culprit has become unusually wealthy, the NACC shall proceed as follows:

(1) in the case where it is the alleged culprit under section 66, the President shall refer the matter to the Prosecutor-General for submission of a motion to the Supreme Court of Justice's Criminal Division for Persons Holding Political Positions requesting the Court to order that the property devolve upon the State;

(2) in the case where the alleged culprit is a person holding the position of President of the Supreme Court of Justice, President of the Constitutional Court, President of the Supreme Administrative Court, judge of the Constitutional Court, Election Commissioner, Ombudsman, member of the State Audit Commission, Vice President of the Supreme Court of Justice, Vice President of the Supreme Administrative Court, Chief of the Military Judicial Office, Deputy Prosecutor-General or is a person holding a high-ranking position, the President shall refer the matter to the Prosecutor-General for submission of a motion to the court having competence to try and adjudicate the case requesting the Court to order that the property devolve upon the State;

(3) in the case where the alleged culprit is a person holding the position of Prosecutor-General, the President shall submit a motion to the court having competence to try and adjudicate the case requesting the Court to order that the property devolve upon the State;

(4) in the case where the alleged culprit is a State official who is not a person under (1), (2) and (3), the President shall refer the matter to the Prosecutor- General for submission of a motion to the Court having competence to try and adjudicate the case requesting the Court to order that the property devolve upon the State, and the President shall notify the superior or the person having the power to appoint or remove the alleged culprit for the purpose of issuing a punitive order of expulsion or dismissal on the deemed ground of the commission of corruption, except that in the case where the alleged culprit is a judicial official under the law on judicial service, judge of the Administrative Court under the law on establishment of Administrative Courts and Administrative Court procedures or public prosecutor under the law on public prosecutors service, the President shall notify the President of the Judicial Commission, the President of the Judicial Commission of Administrative Courts or thePresident of the Public Prosecutors Commission, as the case may be, for considering and proceeding with the matter in accordance with the law on judicial service, the law on establishment of Administrative Courts and Administrative Court procedures or the law on public prosecutors service.

In the case under (1) or (2), when the Prosecutor-General receives the report and documents together with the opinion from the NACC and is of the opinion that the report, documents and opinion referred to by the NACC are not so complete as to justify the institution of legal proceedings, the Prosecutor-General shall notify the NACC for further action. For this purpose, the incomplete items shall fully be specified at the same time. In this case, the NACC and Prosecutor-General shall appoint a working committee consisting of representatives of each side in an equal number for the purpose of collecting full evidence to be referred to the Prosecutor-General for further submission of a motion to the Supreme Court of Justice's Criminal Division of Persons Holding Political Positions or the court having competence to try and adjudicate the case, as the case may be, requesting the Court to give a subsequent order that the property devolve upon the State. In the case where such working committee fails to reach an agreement as to the legal proceedings, the NACC shall have the power to submit a motion to the Supreme Court of Justice's Criminal Division for Persons Holding Political Positions or the Court having competence to try and adjudicate the case, as the case may be, requesting the Court to order that the property devolve upon the State.

The proceedings under paragraph one shall be exempt from court fees. As for cases under (2), (3) or (4), the Civil Procedure Code shall apply mutatis mutandis.



Author’s note: Due to language constraints, an extraction of the appropriate sections in their original form could not be conducted. For reference, these sections can be viewed at the online source provided above.


Type: Civil Illicit Enrichment Laws

Last update on LEARN: 3 Mar 2022