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Laws of Thailand

History of Law in Thailand
Until the 20th-century legal reforms of Rama V, the law of Thailand derived — in theory — from treatises on law called dhammasattha (Thai, ธรรมศาสตร์ thammasāt  or dhammasāt) derived from the "Code of Manu" (Manusmṛti) and collectively called "science of law" (พระธรรมศาสตร์ phrathammasāt): The dharmasastras &#91;books of law&#93; are not ordinary legal treatises expounding the actual law of the country. The science of law was connected with the study of Veda &#91;religious texts&#93;. The latter leads to the study of the rules which necessarily control human societies and are independent of human wills. It reveals to men the principles which should inspire their conduct if they wish to live the meritorious life. They are thus analogous to the European "natural law." But while the European theorists of the "natural law" seldom went beyond the vague region of generalities and the exposition of fundamental principles, the Hindus proceeded to deduce from these principles a mass of detailed and precise rules. Thus the dharmasastras, while theoretically expounding only natural (not positive) law, in fact regulated the entire legal life of man. Hence they were liable to be mistaken for genuine legal treatises. Furthermore, while dhamma in theory translates to law, in practice Dhamma translates to Norm. Upholding the Norm thus is the sole legal principle, which aims to protect the model government and not the rights of any individuals in the state, not even rights of the ruler of the state. This has important legal consequences, often overlooked in the evolution of the monarchy of Thailand.

First, a ruler must be elected, not according to any law governing electors or succession, but according to the norms of the time and place. Next, the one selected must be enthroned and given a royal title and regalia emblematic of the king's right to exercise arbitrary power.

While the dharmasastra concept of arbitrary power (pouvoir arbitraire) bears semblance to the Chinese concept of the Mandate of Heaven and Confucian thought on family as a model for the state, and to a lesser extent, the Western concept of absolute monarchy, the principle differs in practice — specifically, in the practice of law.

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1) Kojmai Tra Sam Duang (กฏหมายสามดวง) or the Three Seal Code is so called because the original royal edition — first printed in 1849, 45 years after its promulgation — was affixed, as authentication, with the seals of the lion (of the Interior Department). the kotchasi (คชสิห์) a mythological lion-elephant beast (of the Defence Department), and the glass lotus (of the Finance Department). Because the first public printing of the Code was subsequently seized by the authorities (on the grounds of showing disrespect to the king [Mongkut]), the contents of the Code were kept from public knowledge for a long period . Despite attempts by Dr. Dan Bradley, who was responsible for issuing the Bradley Edition of the Code in 1863, and Prince Rajburi, responsible for the so-called Rajburi Version of the Code in 1901, the original and complete Three Seal Code was not publicly issued until 1939, the first publication being sponsored by the newly founded Thammasart University (University of Political and Moral Sciences) in Bangkok, edited by French legal scholar Robert Lingat.

"In the ancient times the monarchs of the Siamese nation governed their people with laws which were originally derived from the Dhamasustra of Manu, which was then the prevailing law among the inhabitants of India and the neighbouring countries."
 * King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), in the preamble to the Siamese Penal Code promulgated on April 1, 1908, which came into operation on September 21st.

Mon
The Indianized kingdoms of Southeast Asia inherited the Brahminical traditional view that the universe is governed by an immutable natural law, the Dharma ({{th|ธรรม), miraculously revealed to the legendary Manu of Hinduism, made known to mankind through abridged versions called Dharmaśāstra. Only a small part of the Dhannasastra deals with the administration of justice; the rest deals with Brahminical practices deeply rooted in Brahmanical religion. The Khmer Empire and kingdoms where Brahminism predominated adopted the Dharmasastra with little or no change. Disputes were settled, and the rites observed, by reference to it in a manner analogous to common law; but as decisions in specific cases were ad hoc commands that established no precedent, no code of civil law came into being—except in Siam.

Thammasat
Mon people fleeing the Khmers founded new Mon kingdoms which fostered scholars who developed a genre of literature called Dhammasattha that form the basis of Burmese customary law. Dhammathat or Thammasat (ธรรมศาสตร์) is the modern Thai word for jurisprudence and for Thammasat University (TU). TU professor Robert Lingat when it was still know as the University of Moral and Political Sciences, and characterized by Northwestern University law professor John H. Wigmore as the greatest (and almost the only) authority on Siamese legal history, The Code of Wareru,

Ayutthayan Law
The four traditional kingdoms collectively called Siam derived their law from the Code of Wareru 1253–1307), which was derived from the Dhammathat ({{lang|th|ธรรมศาสตร์ Thammasat]]) with Brahminical matter removed. The Dhammathat forms the basis of common law in the other Indianized} Southeast Asian kingdoms, but when [[Trailokanat, King of Sukhothai from 1431 and of Ayutthaya from 1448 to 1488, promulgated the Ayutthayan Law in 1458, which lasted well into the 19th century.(1314–1369)  At the end of Burmese–Siamese War (1765–1767), the capital was  destroyed followed the reestablishment of Siamese authority in a series of wars and rebellions.

19th Century
In 1804, King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (Rama I) had the old Ayutthayan laws collected and organized. The first page of the official manuscripts of the Law Code of 1805 bore Three Seals, which gave rise to the name, Law of the Three Seals; and were later edited and published in 1938-39. Pramnŏn Kŏtmai Roc'ăkan T'I Nŭng Cŭlăcăkărăt (ประมวลกฎมาย รัชกาลที่หนึ่ง) 1166 (English: Code of the first reign Chula Sakarat 1166 A.D.1804-05) by R. Lingat Vols. I, II, 1939; Vol. III (in press).and published The Japanese Assistant Legal Adviser assigned to Siam, Toshiki Masao, ,

20th Century
On July 2, before the new Code had been made available to the public, Dr. Toshiki Masao read a paper to members of the Siam Society, to explain that henceforth the people would be governed with laws which were originally derived from the Corpus Juris Civilis of Justinian; then closes his remarks by quoting the opening of Introduction to The Institutes of Justinian: "Imperatoriam maiestatem non solum armis decoratam, sed etiam legibus oportet esse armatam, ut utrumque tempus et bellorum et pacis recte possit gubernari! [Google-translate: 'Not only the majesty of the imperial adorned with arms, but also there needs to be armed by the laws, so that these two periods of war and of peace, and can rightly be governed!]"

In the Discussion that followed, Mr. J. Stewart Black expanded on the history of codification, then adds: "There exists a Penal Code in every civilised country in the world, with one exception and that exception is England." It was also noted that the Siamese Government rebuffed English suggestions that the new code be modeled on the Penal Code of India, choosing instead to model, as had Belgium, Germany, Japan, Italy, Egypt, etc.,  on the French Penal Code of 1810 (Code pénal de 1810).