Why do soldiers who commit crimes sometimes go to a court of law instead of a military court ?
– The Court of Justice has the power to decide all cases (all) both civil and criminal, including cases with specific characteristics such as cases where children or young people commit crimes, labor cases, cases related to copyright infringement, etc., except ❕ cases that the Constitution or law stipulates to be under the jurisdiction of other courts, such as the Administrative Court, the Military Court, etc.
– The military court has the power to decide on criminal cases in which the offender is under the jurisdiction of the military court.
Persons under the jurisdiction of the military court, such as commissioned officers, non-commissioned officers, military cadets, etc.
– The division of courts into the courts of justice and military courts.
– The Court of Justice has 3 levels: the Court of First Instance, the Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court.
– The military court has 3 levels: the first-instance military court, the middle-instance military court, and the highest-instance military court.
For cases that are questionable regarding the power of the military court, there are exceptions to the law, specified in the Military Court Act of 1955, Section 14, regarding cases that are not under the power of the military court.
(1) Cases where the offender is a soldier committing an offence together with other individuals (who are not under the jurisdiction of the military court).
(2) Cases involving the authority of a civilian court (a civilian court means a court other than a military court).
(3) Cases that must be prosecuted in the Juvenile and Family Court.
(4) Cases which the military court finds to be beyond the jurisdiction of the military court.
Including cases where the civil court has already accepted the lawsuit.
This is why these cases, even though soldiers are the perpetrators, are not under the jurisdiction of the military court…
Read more: The Military Court Act B.E. 2498
http://www.krisdika.go.th/librarian/get?sysid=389350&ext=pdf
