Court of First Instance

Thai criminal procedure begins at a Court of First Instance: in Bangkok, the Criminal Court; in the provinces, provincial Courts. Specialised divisions handle juveniles, narcotics, and labour matters. Trial-level judgments can be appealed to the Court of Appeal (regional appellate courts), and from there to the Supreme Court (Dika). The 50-year §112 record case was imposed at the Court of Appeal stage — meaning the trial court's original sentence had been less and was increased on review. Many of the figures on this site reflect outcomes at the trial level; appellate outcomes occasionally raise (rather than lower) the sentence.