The Obsolescence of the Old Thai Judicial System
There are some who consistently blame western selfishness in the demand for total extraterritorial rights as the sole reason for legal reformation in Thailand. Thai students are often taught that Thailand was forced to change her old laws and traditions only because of the cruelty of the west. But when we consider reform from another perspective, apart from the concept of extraterritoriality, it is possible to realize that another reason of using western legal principles to guide modern Thai law was due to special characteristics of the western legal systems. Since western legal systems had developed over time, they were proven and tested by the principles of modern society through systematic reasoning and logic(17).
About non-western legal systems, a western scholar recently noted that:
To the degree that non-western cultures were mired in what Max Gluckman was fond of calling “the kingdom of custom”, they obviously lacked a corpus juris, a modern sense of right-bearing selfhood, and most seriously of all, anything approaching “civilized” judicial procedures. It was appropriate, therefore, that in the name of universal “progress”, they be subordinated to a superior European legal order(18).
European countries always stated that the only reason for demanding the extraterritorial provisions was that Thai laws, particularly criminal law and criminal procedure, were obsolete and barbaric. Indeed, it is hard to judge whether the Thai judicial system at that time was truly barbaric since western views and eastern views were quite different. We may not say that old Thai laws were all wrong and null because the mother of Thai laws – Dharmasatra, a natural jurisprudence of the East, was still valid eternally; whereas, most technical laws or some specific provisions of laws were not suitable to a society stepping into the modern age anymore.
Principle of the old Thai law and the western law were quite different from each other in many aspects, namely(19):
(1) The modern law believes that persons are “equal before the law”, and enjoy equal protection under the law. Also, people are “subjects of the law”. Yet, Thailand at that time had the slavery system and people were labeled in different classes. Although slaves in Thailand were not treated like property as they were in western countries, and could enjoy some rights, Thai slaves were still their owners’ property in other manners, and their human dignity was not guaranteed.
(2) The modern law very much guarantees that property rights and the sanctity of a person’s dwelling are protected. There are clear rules about obligations, contracts, rights of ownership upon property, etc., in the modern law, while old Thai law had only some basic rules about property such as loan and deposit. In short, old Thai law did not govern the all-inclusive area of human relations.
(3) Modern criminal justice has a principle that government officials can arrest and punish a person where there is a law clearly indicating that an action is unlawful. The doctrine where there is no guilt if there is no law, Nulla Poena, Sine Lege, was not known in Thailand at that time. Further, as a modern idea, the arrest as well as the punishment of an accused must follow considerations of fundamental human rights. Interrogation through torture and punishment were totally unacceptable in the western view.
These modern principles had gradually developed in western countries over a long period. Arising under the fear or torture as existed in the Middle Ages, modern principles of criminal law and criminal procedure that respected human dignity were heavily emphasized. Even so, before the 20th century Thailand still interrogated suspects and proved the guilt of the accused by methods of torture dating back to ancient civilization.
Obsolescence ของระบบยุติธรรมไทยเก่ามีบางคนโทษความตะวันตกในความต้องการใช้สิทธิรวม extraterritorial เป็นสาเหตุปฏิรูปกฎหมายในประเทศไทยแต่เพียงผู้เดียวอย่างสม่ำเสมอ นักเรียนไทยมักจะถูกสอนมาว่า ประเทศไทยถูกบังคับให้เปลี่ยนแปลงประเพณีและกฎหมายเก่าของเธอเท่านั้น เพราะโหดของตะวันตก แต่เมื่อเราพิจารณาปฏิรูปจากมุมมองอื่น จากแนวคิดของสิทธิสภาพนอกอาณาเขต จำเป็นต้องตระหนักว่า อีกเหตุผลหนึ่งของการใช้หลักกฎหมายตะวันตกเพื่อเป็นแนวทางกฎหมายไทยสมัยใหม่ได้เนื่องจากลักษณะพิเศษของระบบกฎหมายตะวันตก เนื่องจากมีพัฒนาระบบกฎหมายตะวันตกช่วงเวลา พวกเขาได้พิสูจน์ และทดสอบตามหลักการของสังคมสมัยใหม่ผ่านระบบเหตุผลและ logic(17)เกี่ยวกับระบบกฎหมายของตะวันตก นักวิชาการตะวันตกล่าสุดไว้ที่:ยังมี ที่วัฒนธรรมตะวันตกได้ดักดาน Gluckman สิ่งสูงสุดนิยมเรียก "อาณาจักรเอง" พวกเขาแน่นอนขาดเป็นคอร์พัสคริ juris ความรู้สึกทันสมัย selfhood เรืองขวา และอย่างจริงจังมากที่สุดทั้ง หมด สิ่งที่กำลัง "อารย" กระบวนการยุติธรรม ได้ที่เหมาะสม ดังนั้น ที่ชื่อสากล "ดำเนินการ" พวกเขาจะรองไป order(18) กฎหมายยุโรปที่เหนือกว่าEuropean countries always stated that the only reason for demanding the extraterritorial provisions was that Thai laws, particularly criminal law and criminal procedure, were obsolete and barbaric. Indeed, it is hard to judge whether the Thai judicial system at that time was truly barbaric since western views and eastern views were quite different. We may not say that old Thai laws were all wrong and null because the mother of Thai laws – Dharmasatra, a natural jurisprudence of the East, was still valid eternally; whereas, most technical laws or some specific provisions of laws were not suitable to a society stepping into the modern age anymore.Principle of the old Thai law and the western law were quite different from each other in many aspects, namely(19):(1) The modern law believes that persons are “equal before the law”, and enjoy equal protection under the law. Also, people are “subjects of the law”. Yet, Thailand at that time had the slavery system and people were labeled in different classes. Although slaves in Thailand were not treated like property as they were in western countries, and could enjoy some rights, Thai slaves were still their owners’ property in other manners, and their human dignity was not guaranteed.(2) The modern law very much guarantees that property rights and the sanctity of a person’s dwelling are protected. There are clear rules about obligations, contracts, rights of ownership upon property, etc., in the modern law, while old Thai law had only some basic rules about property such as loan and deposit. In short, old Thai law did not govern the all-inclusive area of human relations.(3) Modern criminal justice has a principle that government officials can arrest and punish a person where there is a law clearly indicating that an action is unlawful. The doctrine where there is no guilt if there is no law, Nulla Poena, Sine Lege, was not known in Thailand at that time. Further, as a modern idea, the arrest as well as the punishment of an accused must follow considerations of fundamental human rights. Interrogation through torture and punishment were totally unacceptable in the western view.These modern principles had gradually developed in western countries over a long period. Arising under the fear or torture as existed in the Middle Ages, modern principles of criminal law and criminal procedure that respected human dignity were heavily emphasized. Even so, before the 20th century Thailand still interrogated suspects and proved the guilt of the accused by methods of torture dating back to ancient civilization.
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