Administrative Procedure Act

Administrative procedure under all laws follows this Act, except where another law sets a specific procedure for a matter that guarantees fairness or a standard no lower than this Act. The second paragraph provides that this first paragraph does not apply to appeal or challenge steps and time limits prescribed by other laws, so those specific-law appeal rules prevail.

The Act does not apply to nine areas: (1) Parliament and the Cabinet; (2) bodies exercising constitutional powers; (3) the Prime Minister's or a minister's deliberation on direct policy matters; (4) the adjudication of cases by courts and the work of officials in the court process, enforcement of judgments and deposits; (5) the Council of State's handling of grievances and directions; (6) foreign policy operations; (7) military operations; (8) the criminal justice process; and (9) the affairs of religious organisations. Further exemptions can be made only by Royal Decree on the proposal of the Administrative Procedure Committee.

An administrative order (คำสั่งทางปกครอง) is an official's exercise of legal power that creates a legal relationship between persons by creating, changing, transferring, preserving, terminating or affecting the status of rights or duties, permanently or temporarily, for example an instruction, permission, approval, appeal decision, certification or registration. Making a rule (กฎ) is not an administrative order. Other acts may be added by ministerial regulation. An 'official' includes a person, body of persons or juristic person exercising or delegated state administrative power, in or outside the civil service and state enterprises.

An order must be made by an official with authority in the matter (Section 12). Under Section 13, an official may not conduct an administrative proceeding if they are a party; the fiance(e) or spouse of a party; a relative of a party (ascendant or descendant of any degree, sibling or cousin within three degrees, or relative by marriage within two degrees); a current or former legal representative, guardian, representative or agent of a party; or a creditor, debtor or employer of a party. The official must stop and inform their superior (Section 14), and other serious grounds that could make the proceeding partial also disqualify (Section 16). Section 18 disapplies Sections 13 to 16 in urgent cases where delay would harm the public interest, or would harm a person's rights irreparably (โดยไม่มีทางแก้ไขได้), or where no other official can act in place of the disqualified one.

A party attending before an official may bring a lawyer or adviser, and what they do in the party's presence counts as the party's act unless the party objects at once (Section 23). A party may appoint an adult in writing to act for them (Section 24). Where more than fifty persons sign a joint request or file requests of the same or similar content, a named person acts as joint representative; if none is named, the official appoints the person the majority approve (Section 25). The joint representative must be an individual.

Where an order may affect a party's rights, the official must give the party an opportunity to learn the facts adequately and to rebut them and present evidence. Unless the official sees fit to act otherwise, this does not apply in six cases: (1) urgency, where delay would cause serious damage to anyone or affect the public interest; (2) where it would delay a time limit set by law; (3) facts the party itself gave in its request, answer or statement; (4) where giving the opportunity is obviously impracticable; (5) administrative enforcement measures; and (6) other cases set by ministerial regulation. Under paragraph 3 the official must not give the opportunity where doing so would seriously harm the public interest.

A party may inspect documents it needs to know in order to contest, explain or protect its rights, but before the order is made it has no right to inspect the draft decision. The official may refuse access where the information must be kept confidential (Section 32).

A written order, and a written confirmation of an order, must include reasons, which at least state the material facts, the legal provisions relied on, and the considerations and support for the exercise of discretion. Under paragraph 3 the duty is subject to exceptions: a decision matching the request without affecting others' rights and duties, reasons already known to the parties, confidential matters under Section 32, and oral or urgent orders, for which reasons are given in writing in due time if the person subject to the order asks. The duty to give reasons is in Section 37, not Section 36, which deals with the date, the official's name and position, and signature. Under Section 35, where an order was oral and the recipient asks for it in writing, with good reason, within seven days of the order, the official must confirm it in writing; the seven days is the recipient's window to make the request.

An order is not invalid for four defects if they are cured later: no request filed where the official could act only on a request (the request is filed later); missing reasons under Section 37 (reasons given later); an incomplete hearing of the parties (completed later); and a missing approval from another official (given later). For the last three the cure must happen before the appeal process ends, or, where there is no appeal, before the order goes to the body deciding its legality. Minor errors may always be corrected (Section 43).

Where an order was not made by a minister and no law prescribes a specific internal appeal route, the party appeals in writing, stating the grounds, to the official who made the order within fifteen days of being notified of the order. The appeal does not suspend enforcement unless enforcement is suspended under Section 63/2 paragraph 1. The official decides and notifies within thirty days of receiving the appeal; if not agreeing, the official reports to the appeal authority, which decides within thirty days of the report, extendable by up to thirty days on written notice to the appellant (Section 45). The reviewer may review facts, law and appropriateness and may reduce or increase the burden (Section 46). Section 45 does not apply where a specific law provides otherwise. If an order omits the appeal route and time limit, the period restarts when the party is told, or becomes one year from receipt if it was shorter and no new notice is given (Section 40).

An unlawful order may be revoked in whole or part, with retroactive, non-retroactive or future effect; if it conferred a benefit, Sections 51 and 52 govern. For orders giving money, property or divisible benefits (Section 51), the recipient's good-faith reliance is weighed against the public interest, but good faith cannot be claimed where the recipient gave false statements, concealed facts, threatened or improperly induced, gave materially incorrect or incomplete information, or knew of the unlawfulness or was grossly negligent in not knowing. For other unlawful orders (Section 52), the order may be revoked, and the affected person may claim compensation for good-faith reliance, which must be requested within 180 days of notice of the revocation and cannot exceed the benefit the person would have received. Under Section 49, revoking a benefit-conferring order must generally be done within ninety days of learning of the ground, except where the order was obtained by false statements, concealment, threats or improper inducement.

A lawful order that confers no benefit may be revoked, with effect from the revocation or for the future, unless a like order would have to be made again or revocation is otherwise impossible, with third parties' interests considered. Under paragraph 2, a lawful benefit-conferring order may be revoked, with effect from the revocation or for the future, where (1) a law or a reservation in the order allows it; (2) the beneficiary fails to perform a condition in time; (3) facts or circumstances change so that the official would not have made the order and not revoking would harm the public interest; (4) the law changes, and then only as far as the benefit has not yet been used or received; or (5) serious harm to the public interest or the public must be prevented. For grounds (3), (4) and (5) the beneficiary may claim compensation for good-faith reliance under Section 52. Paragraph 4 separately allows revocation of orders giving money, property or divisible benefits (including with retroactive effect, applying Section 51) where the order's purpose was not carried out or was carried out late, or the beneficiary failed or delayed in meeting its conditions.

Administrative enforcement is in Chapter 2/1 (Sections 63/1 to 63/25), added by Act (No. 3) B.E. 2562; the former Sections 55 to 63 are repealed. Enforcement does not apply between state agencies unless a law provides otherwise (Section 63/1). The issuing official may use enforcement measures unless enforcement has been suspended, and must use only what is needed, with the least impact (Section 63/2). The person subject to a measure may appeal it under the same rules as appeals against orders (Section 63/5). For an order to pay money that is not paid on time, the official sends a written warning giving at least seven days, after which assets may be seized or attached and sold at auction (Section 63/7). The agency must seize or attach assets within ten years of the payment order becoming final (Section 63/8).

If a person does not comply with an order to do or refrain from something, the official may use one of two measures: (1) act itself or through another, the person bound reimbursing the costs plus a daily surcharge at 25 percent per year of those costs; or (2) impose a coercive fine of a reasonable amount, not exceeding THB 50,000 per day. A written warning with a reasonable time limit must come first and must name only one measure (Section 63/22). The official must use the measure named in the warning and may change it only if it does not achieve the purpose; if resisted, reasonable force is allowed (Section 63/23). Which level of official may set what amount of coercive fine is left to ministerial regulation.

An order takes effect against a person from the time they are notified (Section 42), and remains effective until it is revoked or lapses. Notification may be oral, but must be in writing if the person wants it. Written notice delivered to the person, or to their domicile, counts as received on arrival; an address given to the official in the matter counts as the domicile (Section 69). If delivered by hand and the person refuses or is absent, delivery to an adult living or working at the place, or leaving or posting the notice in a visible place before an official witness, counts as notice (Section 70). By acknowledged post, notice is deemed received after seven days within Thailand or fifteen days abroad, unless proved otherwise (Section 71). With more than fifty recipients, posting a notice makes it received after fifteen days (Section 72); where the recipient or domicile is unknown or there are more than one hundred recipients, a newspaper announcement is deemed received after fifteen days (Section 73). In urgent cases, fax may be used, with the original sent at once (Section 74).