Right to counsel (Thailand)

The Thai Code of Criminal Procedure (CPC) guarantees the accused the right to consult and be represented by counsel of their choice, including at initial police interrogation for serious offences (§7bis). The state provides counsel where the offence carries a possible death penalty or life imprisonment, and where the accused cannot afford representation. In practice, the availability of state-provided counsel is more limited than the doctrine suggests: the Thai Lawyers Council operates a pro-bono programme with capacity constraints; most defendants at first appearance are unrepresented or represented by counsel of their own arrangement. Combined with the interpreter constraints for non-Thai speakers (CPC §13), the practical effect for foreign defendants is meaningful representation only after the family or embassy retains private counsel — often days or weeks into the case.