Thailand
2026
- GOVERNMENT
- constitutional monarchy; note - interim military-affiliated government since May 2014 Constitutional monarchy - provisional military government since May 2014
- CONSTITUTION
- many precedents; final draft concluded on March 29, 2016, approved by referendum on August 7, 2016, signed by the king on April 6, 2017; note - the final version has several amendments not reflected in the one adopted by the referendum (2016)
- LEGAL SYSTEM
- based on the civil system with influences of English common law
- LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM
- In transition; following the military coup of May 2014 - National Legislative Assembly or Sapha Nitibanyat Haeng Chat
- JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- Supreme Court, judges appointed by the King
RELIGIONS
94.6% Buddhists; 4.6% Muslims; 0.7% Christians; 0.1% others
From the country
SEPTEMBER 8, 2026ThailandDEATH PENALTYThailand: killer of Hua Hin hotel receptionist sentenced to death
DECEMBER 23, 2024ThailandDEATH PENALTYTHAILAND: BIKER GIVEN DEATH SENTENCE FOR PATTAYA MURDER
A member of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club on December 20, 2024 was sentenced to death and two others given life imprisonment in Thailand for the murder of a German property broker whose dismembered body was found in a freezer in Pattaya last year.
NOVEMBER 21, 2024ThailandDEATH PENALTYTHAILAND: WOMAN ACCUSED OF POISONING 15 PEOPLE WITH CYANIDE SENTENCED TO DEATH
A Thai court on November 20, 2024 sentenced Sararat Rangsiwuthaporn, known as Am Cyanide, to death for the premeditated murder of one of the 15 victims she is accused of poisoning, only one of whom survived.
SEPTEMBER 16, 2024ThailandDEATH PENALTYTHAILAND: EX-PM THAKSIN SHINAWATRA GETS ROYAL PARDON
Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has received a royal pardon, ending his parole on August 11, 2024, according to his lawyer, Winyat Chartmontri.
- JULY 2, 2024ThailandDEATH PENALTY
THAILAND: SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE AGAINST FORMER DEPUTY MINISTER BANYIN
The Supreme Court on June 27, 2024 upheld the death sentence issued against former deputy commerce minister Banyin Tangpakorn by the lower courts for premeditated murder of a construction businessman back in 2015.
FEBRUARY 25, 2024ThailandDEATH PENALTYTHAILAND: 18 SENTENCED TO DEATH, 1 GETS LIFE IN PRISON BRAWL CASE
Eighteen individuals on February 22, 2024 received the death penalty with one sentenced to life imprisonment in a landmark ruling at the Thong Pha Phum Provincial Court in Kanchanaburi province.
MAY 18, 2023ThailandDEATH PENALTYTHAILAND: MAYOR SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER LAND ACTIVIST’S MURDER
The Lower Court sentenced the former Mayor of Wang Wiset district to the death penalty on May 17, 2023 over the murder of a lawyer and land rights activist in Trang province, southern Thailand, two years ago.
APRIL 27, 2023ThailandDEATH PENALTYTHAILAND: SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE ON SCHOOL DIRECTOR FOR FATAL GOLD SHOP ROBBERY
The Thai Supreme Court has upheld the death penalty imposed by two lower courts on the former director of a primary school, who was found guilty of robbing a gold shop in Lop Buri province, killing three people and injuring another in the process.
SEPTEMBER 19, 2022ThailandDEATH PENALTYTHAILAND: WOMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR POISONING HER OWN CHILDREN
Thailand’s Criminal Court sentenced a woman to death on 15 September 2022 after finding her guilty of poisoning her own 2-year-old son and 4-year-old adopted daughter with an abrasive substance, to make them sick so she could appeal to the public for dona
APRIL 26, 2022ThailandDEATH PENALTYTHAILAND: DEATH PENALTY FOR MAN WHO KILLED HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT
A Thai man on 20 April 2022 was sentenced to death over the murder of a high school student in Trang province, southern Thailand, in 2018.
JULY 20, 2021ThailandDEATH PENALTYTHAILAND: DEATH PENALTY UPHELD FOR GOLD-HEIST SCHOOLMASTER
A Thai Appeal Court on 20 July 2021 upheld the death sentence for former schoolmaster Prasittichai Khaokaew, who shot dead three people, one a child, and wounded four others while robbing a gold shop in Lop Buri province early last year.
APRIL 7, 2021ThailandDEATH PENALTYTHAILAND: PAROLED SERIAL KILLER SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR 2019 MURDER
The Khon Kaen Provincial Court on 17 March 2021 passed the death sentence on paroled serial killer Somkid Phumphuang for the murder of a woman in 2019 in Kranuan district.