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Driving Irritation: Thailand's Supreme Court and the English Roots of Corporate Criminal Liability

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 September 2023

Lasse Schuldt Open the ORCID record for Lasse Schuldt [Opens in a new window]
Lasse Schuldt*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Law, Thammasat University, Thailand
*
E-mails: lasse@tu.ac.th
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Abstract

In Thailand, the concept of corporate criminal liability is commonly identified with significant theoretical and practical uncertainties. Only limited attention, however, has been devoted to the notion's historical roots in English legal transfers. This article examines the relevant legislation, court cases, academic literature, and other records. It carves out the continuous English influence on Thai corporate crime doctrine and highlights the legal irritation that occurred along the way. It argues that irritation was not automatic but driven by the Supreme Court, whose choices were shaped by decades of English impact on Thai legal education and practice. The article thereby highlights the dynamics between legal transfers and local drivers of legal development. It expands the growing research on the continued relevance of English law in Thailand and concludes with an outlook on the future of Thai corporate crime doctrine.

Keywords

Corporate criminal liabilityThailandEnglish lawlegal irritationpath dependence

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Asian Journal of Comparative Law , Volume 19 , Issue 1 , April 2024 , pp. 142 - 158
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the National University of Singapore

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Footnotes

*

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, Thammasat University, Thailand.‡

‡

The original version of this article was published with incorrect funding information and an error regarding an Act. A notice detailing these has been published and the errors rectified in the online and print PDF and HTML copies.

References

1 ‘A company cannot commit offences’ (author's translation).

2 See Pieth, Mark & Ivory, Radha, ‘Emergence and Convergence: Corporate Criminal Liability Principles in Overview’, in Pieth, Mark & Ivory, Radha (eds), Corporate Criminal Liability: Emergence, Convergence, and Risk (Springer 2011) 3CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

3 Engelhart, Marc, ‘Corporate Criminal Liability from a Comparative Perspective’, in Brodowski, Dominik et al (eds), Regulating Corporate Criminal Liability (Springer 2014) 53, 55–56Google Scholar.

4 See the general discussion by Fenwick, Mark, ‘The Multiple Uncertainties of the Corporate Criminal Law’, in Fenwick, Mark & Wrbka, Stefan (eds), Legal Certainty in a Contemporary Context: Private and Criminal Law Perspectives (Springer 2016) 147CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

5 See the overview in Gobert, James, ‘The Evolving Legal Test of Corporate Criminal Liability’, in Minkes, John & Minkes, Leonard (eds), Corporate and White-collar Crime (Sage 2008) 61Google Scholar.

6 Pieth & Ivory (n 2) 21–36.

7 On Germany, see Weigend, Thomas, ‘Societas Delinquere non Potest? A German Perspective’ (2008) 6(5) Journal of International Criminal Justice 927CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

8 Surasak Likasitwatanakul (สุรศักดิ์ ลิขสิทธิ์วัฒนกุล), ‘Update Legal Issue ความรับผิดทางอาญาของนิติบุคคล และผู้แทน [Update Legal Issue, Criminal Liability of Legal Persons and Representatives]’ (Thammasat Law Alumni Community, 7 Sep 2022) <https://alumni.law.tu.ac.th/news/692d228d-d0eb-48f1-9182-329462ffccf7/detail> accessed 5 Apr 2023.

9 For instance, in Suraphong Assawaraphanich (สุรพงศ์ อัศวรำพำนิช), ‘ควำมรับผิดทำงอำญำของนิติบุคคล [The Criminal Liability of Juristic Persons]’ (Master Thesis, Chulalongkorn University 1983); Surasak Likasitwatanakul (สุรศักดิ์ ลิขสิทธิ์วัฒนกุล), ‘ข้อสังเกตบำงประกำรเกี่ยวกับคำพิพำกษำ ๓๔๔๖/๒๕๓๗ เรื่องควำมผิดทำงอำญำของนิติบุคคล [Some Observations on the Supreme Court Decision No 3446/2537 Related to Corporate Criminal Liability]’ (1995) 25 Thammasat Law Journal 260; Suchart Thammapitakkul (สุชำติ ธรรมำพิทักษ์กุล), ทฤษฎีสถำนภำพของนิติบุคคลกับควำมรับผิดทำงอำญำ [Theory of the Character of Juristic Persons and Criminal Liability] (Justice College, Ministry of Justice 1998); Schuldt, Lasse & Nidhi-u-tai, Pimtawan, ‘The Supreme Court Jurisprudence on Corporate Criminal Liability 2010–2020’ (2021) 1 Thai Legal Studies 173Google Scholar.

10 In 1939, the government of Siam changed the country's official name to Thailand. This article adopts the respective usage.

11 Reekie, Adam & Reekie, Surutchada, ‘The Long Reach of English Law: A Case of Incidental Transplantation of the English Law Concept of Vicarious Liability into Thailand's Civil and Commercial Code’ (2018) 6(2) Comparative Legal History 207CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Reekie, Surutchada & Reekie, Adam, ‘British Judges in the Supreme Court of Siam’, in Harding, Andrew & Pongsapan, Munin (eds), Thai Legal History. From Traditional to Modern Law (Cambridge University Press 2021) 103Google Scholar; Reekie, Surutchada & Reekie, Adam, ‘A Comparative Analysis of the Protection of Trade Names Under the English Tort of Passing Off and Section 18 of Thailand's Civil and Commercial Code’ (2016) 11 Asian Journal of Comparative Law 1CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Reekie, Surutchada & Popattanachai, Narun, ‘Thai Trust Law: A Legal Import Rooted in Pragmatism’, in Harding, Andrew & Pongsapan, Munin (eds), Thai Legal History. From Traditional to Modern Law (Cambridge University Press 2021) 153Google Scholar.

12 See also Pongsapan, Munin, ‘The Fundamental Misconception in the Drafting of the Thai Civil and Commercial Code of 1925’, in Harding, Andrew & Pongsapan, Munin (eds), Thai Legal History. From Traditional to Modern Law (Cambridge University Press 2021) 122Google Scholar.

13 Almost 40 years ago, Apirat Petchsiri argued that the ‘mixed [ie, Siamese-English] system was in operation for such a short period of time that not many of its effects were known in the later period.’ See Petchsiri, Apirat, ‘A Short History of Thai Criminal Law since the Nineteenth Century’ (1986) 28 Malaya Law Review 134, 145Google Scholar.

14 Also referred to as Rama V. His reign lasted from 1868 until his death in 1910.

15 Gunther Teubner, ‘Legal Irritants: Good Faith in British Law or How Unifying Law Ends Up in New Divergences’ (1998) 61(1) The Modern Law Review 11.

16 Pieth & Ivory (n 2).

17 Centre for Research and Consultancy, Faculty of Law, Thammasat University (ศูนย์วิจัยและให้คำปรึกษำ คณะนิติศำสตร์มหำวิทยำลัยธรรมศำสตร์), กำรศึกษำเปรียบเทียบควำมรับผิดทำงอำญำของนิติบุคคลและผู้แทนนิติบุคคลของประเทศไทยกับประเทศต่ำงๆ ในประชำคมอำเซียน [Comparative Study of Corporate and Representative's Criminal Liability in Thailand and ASEAN Countries] (Office of the Special Prosecutor, Criminal Law Institute, Academic Office, Office of the Attorney General 2015) 150–156.

18 Characteristics such as being a ‘business operator’, ‘permit-holder’, or ‘fuel trader’.

19 See, for instance, Supreme Court judgments No 185/2489 (1946): managers; No 1620/2508 (1965): managerial board.

20 To attribute intentional conduct, the Supreme Court routinely refers to s 70(2) Civil and Commercial Code, according to which the purpose of a legal person is determined by its representatives; see the seminal Supreme Court (General Meeting) judgment No 787–788/2506 (1963) on trademark imitation, which is further discussed below. Decisions that deal with negligence offences, however, attribute conduct without a reference to private law; see the landmark cases on negligent killing, Supreme Court judgments No 3446/2537 (1994) and No 8565–8566/2558 (2015).

21 The narrow focus on representatives for general criminal offences is seen as a limitation on the otherwise expansive jurisprudence. See Surasak Likasitwatanakul (สุรศักดิ์ ลิขสิทธิ์วัฒนกุล), ‘ความรับผิดทางอาญาของนิติบุคคล : การศึกษาทางกฎหมายเปรียบเทียบโดยเฉพาะที่เกี่ยวกับประเทศไทย [Corporate Criminal Liability: A Comparative Legal Study with Particular Focus on Thailand]’ (Master Thesis, Thammasat University 1984) 120.

22 See Assawaraphanich (n 9) 63, who excludes agents, employees and contractors because their tasks are based on contracts rather than on the law.

23 The latter is assumed by ibid 70; Thammapitakkul (n 9) 49 et seq; Surasak Likasitwatanakul (สุรศักดิ์ ลิขสิทธิ์วัฒนกุล), ‘ความรับผิดทางอาญาของนิติบุคคล : การศึกษาเปรียบเทียบทางนิติวิธีในประเทศคอมมอนลอว์ และซีวิลลอว์’ [Corporate Criminal Liability: A Comparative Study of Legal Methods in Common Law and Civil Law Countries]’ (1995) 25(4) Thammasat Law Journal 684, 707; and Nalinorn Tibodi, ‘นลินอร ธิบดี ความรับผิดทางอาญาของนิติบุคคล : ศึกษากรณีกระทำาผิดโดยประมาท [Corporate Criminal Liability: Case Study of Criminal Negligence]’ (Master Thesis, Chulalongkorn University 2008) 101, 106.

24 Kreß, Claus, ‘Nulla Poena Nullum Crimen Sine Lege’, in Peters, Anne & Wolfrum, Rüdiger (eds), The Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law (Oxford University Press 2008–)Google Scholar marginal nos 1, 21 <www.mpepil.com> accessed 5 Apr 2023.

25 Kanit Na Nakorn (คณิต ณ นคร), กฎหมายอาญาภาคทั่วไป [Criminal Law: General Part] (7th edn, Winyuchon 2020) 89; Kanaphon Chanhom (คณพล จันทน์หอม), หลักพื้นฐานกฎหมายอาญา เล่ม 1 [Fundamental Principles of Criminal Law – Book 1] (Winyuchon 2020) chs 3, 4; Achariya Chutinun (อัจฉรียา ชูตินันทน์), ‘หลักการกำหนดความผิดอาญาและหลักการกำหนดโทษอาญาในการตรากฎหมาย [The Principles of Defining Criminal Offences and the Principles of Defining Criminal Penalty in Legislation]’ (2021) 35(3) Suthiparithat 21.

26 See Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand BE 2560 (2017), s 29(1).

27 Likasitwatanakul, ‘Corporate Criminal Liability’ (n 21) 121 et seq; Likasitwatanakul, ‘Some Observations’ (n 9) 270–271; Thammapitakkul (n 9) 47 et seq.

28 Supreme Court judgment No 12328/2558 (2015).

29 Schuldt & Nidhi-u-tai (n 9) 176.

30 ibid 177 et seq.

31 For good overviews of the debate, see Goldbach, Toby, ‘Why Legal Transplants’ (2019) 15 Annual Review of Law and Social Science 583CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Ewald, William, ‘Comparative Jurisprudence (II): The Logic of Legal Transplants’ (1995) 43(4) American Journal of Comparative Law 489CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

32 Watson, Alan, Legal Transplants: An Approach to Comparative Law (2nd edn, University of Georgia Press 1993) ch 2Google Scholar; Legrand, Pierre, ‘The Impossibility of “Legal Transplants”’ (1997) 4(2) Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law 111CrossRefGoogle Scholar; more recently, Legrand, Pierre, ‘The Guile and The Guise: Apropos of Comparative Law as We Know It’ (2021) 16 Asian Journal of Comparative Law 155CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

33 See Harding, Andrew, ‘The Legal Transplants Debate: Getting Beyond the Impasse?’, in Breda, Vito (ed), Legal Transplants in East Asia and Oceania (Cambridge University Press 2019) 13Google Scholar.

34 Teubner (n 15).

35 Husa, Jaako, ‘Developing Legal System, Legal Transplants, and Path Dependence: Reflections on the Rule of Law’ (2018) 6 The Chinese Journal of Comparative Law 129, 136CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

36 Teubner (n 15) 12.

37 ibid.

38 ibid 11.

39 Siems, Mathias, ‘Malicious Legal Transplants’ (2018) 38(1) Legal Studies 103CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

40 Thai legal history is frequently told with reference to the country's key historical eras. Following the settlement of Tai groups throughout the first millennium, these main periods are the Sukhothai Kingdom (from 1238), the Ayutthaya Kingdom (from 1351) and the present Rattanakosin (Bangkok) Kingdom (from 1782). See, for instance, Sawaeng Bunchalermwiphat (แสวง บุญเฉลิมวิภาส) & Utirud Tanbuncharoen (อติรุจ ตันบุญเจริญ), ประวัติศาสตร์กฎหมายไทย [The Thai Legal History] (19th edn, Winyuchon 2020).

41 Regarding criminal law, see Kanaphon Chanhom, Codification in Thailand During the 19th and 20th Centuries: A Study of the Causes, Process and Consequences of Drafting the Penal Code of 1908 (PhD Thesis, University of Washington 2010) 65.

42 Jois, M Rama, Legal and Constitutional History of India. Ancient Legal, Judicial and Constitutional System (Universal Law Publishing 1984) 177Google Scholar et seq.

43 See, for instance, Engel, David M & Engel, Jaruwan S, Tort, Custom, and Karma: Globalization and Legal Consciousness in Thailand (Stanford University Press 2010) ch 3Google Scholar; Daniel Francis Robinson, Biodiversity-Related Traditional Knowledge in Thailand (PhD Thesis, University of Sydney 2007) 190–191.

44 Phra Ayakarn Bet Set (พระไอยการเบ็ดเสร็จ) [Law on Miscellaneous Issues], ss 101, 102, as published in กฎหมายตราสามดวง เล่น 3 [Three Seals Code, Book 3] (Khurusapha Trade Organization 1963) 149–150. In the absence of the Western legal personality concept, it has been suggested that these provisions could be conceived of as an early legal recognition of partnerships. See Thira Singhphan (ธีระ สิงห์พันธุ์), คำอธิบายเรียงมาตราประมวลกฎหมายแพ่งและพาณิชย์ว่าด้วยหุ้นส่วนและบริษัท [Civil and Commercial Code: Partnerships and Companies] (5th edn, Ramkhanghaeng University Publishing 2000) 1.

45 Emile Jottrand, In Siam. The Diary of a Legal Adviser of King Chulalongkorn's Government (1905) as quoted in Tips, Walter EJ, Crime and Punishment in King Chulalongkorn's Kingdom (White Lotus Press 1998) 12Google Scholar. Emile Jottrand was a Belgian assistant legal adviser in the Siamese Ministry of Justice from 1898 to 1902.

46 See the preamble to the Act Amending the Principles of Debt R.E. 110 (1891), Government Gazette, Book 8 (13 Mar 1891) 445, referring to the increased trade, particularly with foreign countries, and the ‘several ways to form a partnership’ (author's translation).

47 Beginning with the so-called Bowring Treaty of 1855, these treaties granted respective citizens ‘extraterritoriality’ in Siam, ie, the right to be subject to the laws of their home jurisdiction. See James, Eldon R, ‘Jurisdiction over Foreigners in Siam’ 16(4) American Journal of International Law (1922) 585CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

48 For instance, the Bangkok Dock Company Ltd was established in 1865 by the English Captain John Bush. See Bangkok Dock Company, ‘Company History’ <http://www.bangkokdock.co.th:8080/2563/index.php/th/2020-04-05-09-22-27/2019-09-20-16-03-29> accessed 5 Apr 2023.

49 In some years, British subjects formed the majority of plaintiffs in the consular courts. See Judicial Adviser [Stewart Black], ‘Chapter XIII: Justice’, in A Cecil Carter (ed), The Kingdom of Siam (Knickerbocker Press 1904) 197.

50 For instance, the majority of shares of the Siam Electricity Company Ltd, which was established in 1889 based on a royal concession, was held by the Crown. See Silpa Wattanatham, ‘แรกมี ‘ไฟฟ้า’ ในสยาม สิ่งฟุ่มเฟือยของชนชั้นนำ สู่กิจการโรงไฟฟ้า ไทยทำเจ๊ง ฝรั่งทำรุ่ง [The First Time that there was Electricity in Siam, A Luxury for the Elite. The Powerplant Business was Ruined by Thai, Made Prosperous by Foreigners]’ (Silpa Wattanatham, 17 Sep 2022) <https://www.silpa-mag.com/history/article_47129> accessed 5 Apr 2023.

51 For instance, the Bangkok Times of 7 February 1891 reported that the shares in the Bangkok Tramways Company were distributed as follows: ‘976 owned by Englishmen, 11 by Siamese, 639 by Danes, 510 by Swiss, 56 by Americans, 59 by Italians, 20 by Germans, and 15 by Frenchmen.’ Reprinted in Beek, Steve van, News From the 90's. Bangkok 1890–1899 (Nonart Bangkok 2018) 26Google Scholar.

52 Chanhom, Codification (n 41) 109.

53 They were published in the Government Gazette as ประกาศ พระราชทาน อำนาจ พิเศษ (prakat phraratchathan amnat phiset), which can be literally translated as ‘announcements royally conferring special authority’.

54 Government Gazette, Book 28 (17 Sep 1911) 206.

55 Butler, Henry N, ‘General Incorporation in Nineteenth Century England: Interaction of Common Law and Legislative Processes’ (1986) 6 International Review of Law and Economics 169CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

56 The Section would also clarify that the company could have claims and obligations in its own name and be claimant (โจทย์ chot) or respondent (จำเลย chamloei) in litigation.

57 See the charters establishing the Phra Phutthabat Tram Company Ltd (1901), Thai Tram Company Ltd (1904), Bank Siam Company Ltd (1906), Bang Nara Company Ltd (1909), Pak Nam Railway Company Ltd (1910), Handicraft Company Ltd (1911), Siam Steamboat Company Ltd (1911), Sam Sen Garage Company Ltd (1911), and the Monton Bank Company Ltd (1913). The charters listed here and in the following footnote were published in the Government Gazette in the respective years.

58 See, if not otherwise indicated, ss 3 of the charters establishing the Engineering Society of Siam Company (1906, s 5), Mae Nam Motorboat Company Ltd (1907), Transport Company Moto Ltd (1908), Thai Fire Boats Company Ltd (1908), Sri Racha Company Ltd (1908), Chinese-Siamese Bus Boats Company Ltd (1908), Siam Stoneworks Company Ltd (1908), and the Bangkok City Bank Company Ltd (1909).

59 The English Companies Act 1862 replaced the English Joint Stock Companies Act 1856 and was itself replaced by the English Companies (Consolidation) Act 1908. It was the relevant law in force in England at the time when the Siamese company charters were created.

60 These were the failure to forward the memorandum and articles of association to company members (s 19), to keep and notify the register of members (ss 25, 27), to allow inspections of the register of members (s 32), to notify an increase of capital or members (s 34), to have a registered office (s 39), to have and use a correct company name and sign (s 42), to keep and notify the register of directors and managers (s 46), and the failure to notify or forward to members any special resolutions (ss 53, 54).

61 The offences comprised failures to keep and notify the register of members, to allow inspections of the register of members, to have a registered office, to have and use a correct company name and sign, and to notify or forward to members any special resolutions.

62 For example, Section 13 of the 1901 Charter of the Phra Phutthabat Tram Company Ltd read:

The Company must have one regular office. The Company must register with the Ministry of Agriculture where it is located, the district and the city, to facilitate sending letters and government notifications to the hands of the Company. If there is no such office, or if it has not been registered, the company is liable to a daily penalty not exceeding 100 Baht for each day until it is correctly done [author's translation].

Section 39 of the English Companies Act 1862 stipulated on the same matter:

Every company under this Act shall have a registered office to which all communications and notices may be addressed. If any company under this Act carries on business without having such an office, it shall incur a penalty not exceeding five pounds for every day during which such business is so carried on.

63 Corporate liability for violations of company law was strict liability. See generally on the historical development of corporate criminal liability in Wells, England Celia, Corporations and Criminal Responsibility (2nd edn, Oxford University Press 2005) 86–87Google Scholar.

64 See ss 165–168 of the English Companies Act 1862 for crimes committed in the process of winding up.

65 Judicial Adviser, ‘Justice’ (n 49) 191: ‘The [examination] papers, in fact, bear a marked resemblance to ordinary bar examination papers in England, turned into Siamese with, it must be said, additional puzzles peculiar to Siamese law.’

66 Bunchalermwiphat & Tanbuncharoen (n 40) 230–235.

67 Pongsapan, Munin, ‘Legal Education at Thammasat University: A Microcosm of the Development of Thai Legal Education’, in Harding, Andrew, Hu, Jiaxiang & de Visser, Maartje (eds), Legal Education in Asia: From Imitation to Innovation (Brill Nijhoff 2018) 299, 301–302Google Scholar. Thammasat University's initial name was University of Moral and Political Sciences.

68 Petchsiri (n 13) 144; Jottrand (n 45) 24 and 27.

69 Chanhom, Codification (n 41) 116; Judicial Adviser, ‘Justice’ (n 49) 187–188.

70 Reekie & Reekie, ‘British Judges’ (n 11) 107. Black, however, also highlighted the limits of foreign laws particularly in criminal law: ‘In civil cases where the law is silent new paths can always be struck out, but in criminal cases this is not quite so feasible. The importation of brandnew [sic] codes would doubtless make the work of the judges easier, but the advantages of working on a system known to the people for centuries are obvious.’ See Judicial Adviser, ‘Justice’ (n 49) 189.

71 See Tips, Walter EJ, Gustave Rolin-Jaequemyns and the Making of Modern Siam: The Diaries and Letters of King Chulalongkorn's General Adviser (White Lotus Press 1996) 1Google Scholar.

72 The Royal Decree on Rape 1899, the Royal Decree on Insult 1899, and the Cheating Act 1900. See Chanhom, Codification (n 41) 122.

73 ibid 117.

74 See, for instance, the Japanese-Siamese Protocol of 25 Feb 1898, which stipulated the continuation of Japanese consular jurisdiction ‘until a Criminal Code, a Code of Criminal Procedure, a Civil Code, a Code of Civil Procedure and a law of Constitution of the Courts of Justice come into force’; as cited in Chanhom, Codification (n 41) 120.

75 Government Gazette, Book 25, Special Issue 206 (1 Jun 1908).

76 According to Stewart Black, the Siamese government's Judicial Adviser, the Italian, French, Indian and Japanese Codes were particularly influential. See Siam Society, Ordinary General Meeting, 2 Jul 1908, ‘Discussion on Dr. Masao's Paper’ (1908) 5(2) Journal of the Siam Society 15, 16. See also Bunchalermwiphat & Tanbuncharoen (n 40) 249–250: French, German, Italian, Dutch Codes, as well as the criminal laws of Hungary, Egypt and Japan.

77 The second drafting commission was chaired by Georges Padoux from France. The other members were WAG Tilleke, the acting Attorney General who had immigrated from Sri Lanka, Phra Athakarn Prasidhi, a judge in the International Court, and Luang Sakon Satayatorn, a judge in the Civil Court.

78 Chanhom, Codification (n 41) 164 and 178. Interestingly, his son and Minister of Justice, Prince Raphi, opposed codification because of the time and money consumed by it. He was thus not involved in the second drafting period, see ibid 177–179 and 182.

79 Petchsiri (n 13) 145.

80 Indian Penal Code 1860, s 11: ‘The word ‘person’ includes any Company or Association, or body of persons, whether incorporated or not.’ See Morgan, Walter & MacPherson, Arthur George, Indian Penal Code (Act XLV. Of 1860) With Notes (GC Hay & Company 1863) 16Google Scholar.

81 In accordance with the continental spirit, the drafters also aimed to limit judicial discretion as they felt that this ‘would be safer for the Siamese Judge and for the public.’ This was mainly achieved through the stipulation of minimum and maximum punishments, following the model of the French Penal Code. See Tokichi Masao, ‘The New Penal Code of Siam’ (1908–9) 18(2) Yale Law Journal 85, 93–94.

82 Tips, Gustave Rolin-Jaequemyns (n 71) 278–279.

83 In pt 6, โทษานุโทษ (thosanuthot), which can be translated as ‘Major and Minor Offences’. Specifically, companies were liable for the failures to properly use the term ‘Limited’ (s 281), to keep a record of shareholders (s 282), to officially register certain changes within the prescribed deadlines (s 283), to submit certain documents, to officially register shareholders, and to stipulate the company's share assets (s 284), as well as to sell acquired shares by auction according to the applicable rules (s 285).

84 Government Gazette, Book 42, 233 (21 Dec 1925); ss 281–285 of the 1911 Act became ss 347–351 of the Penal Code, with a few changes in the wording. The failure to register a company office, omitted in the 1911 Act, was added as a corporate crime in s 352 of the Code.

85 1908 Penal Code, s 43(1). While the petty offences (ความผิดลหุโทษ kwaamphit lohuthot) of the tenth chapter were mostly strict liability offences, this concept was not extended to ch 11.

86 Henri Laurent (เฮนรี่ โลรัง), คำแนะนำหัวข้อกฎหมายอาญา [Advice on Criminal Law Issues] (Sophonphiphatthanakorn Press 1924) 40, who considered that only strict liability offences, such as those in the 1911 Act or those among the Penal Code's petty offences, could be applied to legal persons.

87 Wells (n 63) 93–99. See also R v Great North of England Railway Co [1846] 115 ER 1295, Ex 1846, in which a company was held strictly liable for public nuisance, and Pearks, Dunston & Tee Ltd v Ward [1902] 2 KB 1, in which a company was held strictly liable for a statutory offence.

88 Reekie & Reekie, ‘The Long Reach of English Law’ (n 11) 224–225.

89 Criminal defamation in Thai law can be committed by both false and true reports, making malicious intent particularly relevant. See Streckfuss, David, Truth on Trial in Thailand: Defamation, Treason, and Lèse-Majesté (Routledge 2011) 139–156Google Scholar.

90 Supreme Court judgment No 952/2474 (1931), another defamation case against the Siam Free Press.

91 Supreme Court judgment No 185/2489 (1946).

92 Supreme Court judgment No 1144/2493 (1950).

93 Supreme Court judgment No 219/2500 (1957).

94 Government Gazette, Book 73, pt 95 (15 Nov 1956), Special Issue, 12.

95 Chanhom, Codification (n 41) 253.

96 See draft s 3 of the Corporate Offences Act as cited in Likasitwatanakul, Corporate Criminal Liability (n 21) 91.

97 Yut Saeng-uthai is one of the most cited authorities in Thai law. He served as the Secretary-General of the Council of State, published almost three dozen textbooks, and taught as an adjunct professor at Thammasat University and Chulalongkorn University.

98 Report of Meetings of the House of Representatives, Ordinary Session No. 17/2499 (1956), 36, as cited in Centre for Research and Consultancy, Comparative Study (n 17) 142–143.

99 ibid (author's translation).

100 He graduated with a Doctor of Law degree from Friedrich Wilhelm University Berlin in 1936. The university's name changed to Humboldt University Berlin in 1949.

101 Supreme Court (General Meeting) judgment No 787-788/2506 (1963).

102 ss 274, 275.

103 General Meetings (ประชุมใหญ่ prachum yai) of the Supreme Court can be called by the President of the Court if a case involves important legal questions or if it is a case prescribed by law. The author's survey of prior General Meeting decisions shows that it was not until the 1963 trademark case that this body addressed a doctrinal question related to corporate criminal liability. See Praphat Uaychai (ประภาศน์ อวยชัย), ข้อโต้แย้งจากที่ประชุมใหญ่ศาลฎีกา หรือฎีกา 100 ปี ตามกฏหมายอาญา เล่ม 1–4 [Arguments from Supreme Court General Meetings, or 100 Years of the Supreme Court, in Criminal Law, Vol. 1–4] (Council on Social Welfare of Thailand under Royal Patronage 1994–1998).

104 Civil and Commercial Code, s 75 at the time of the decision, s 70(2) in the Code's current version.

105 See ibid; n 9.

106 See Assawaraphanich (n 9) 61–62.

107 Mousell Brothers Ltd v London and North Western Railway Co [1917] 2 KB 836, 846 (Atkin J): ‘No mens rea being necessary to make the principal liable, a corporation is in exactly the same position as a principal who is not a corporation.’

108 Director of Public Prosecutions v Kent and Sussex Contractors Ltd [1944] 1 All ER 119.

109 R v ICR Haulage Ltd (1944) 30 C App Rep 31.

110 Moore v I Bresler Ltd [1944] 2 All ER 515; the managers also intended to defraud the company itself.

111 Wells (n 63) 90–91, 99.

112 ibid 94–96; in tort law, the doctrine had already been established in Lennards Carrying Co Ltd v Asiatic Petroleum Ltd [1915] AC 705 HL. See also Parsons, Simon, ‘The Doctrine of Identification, Causation and Corporate Liability for Manslaughter’ (2003) 67(1) Journal of Criminal Law 69Google Scholar.

113 Vane v Yiannopoulos [1965] AC 486.

114 Wells (n 63) 99.

115 Tesco Supermarkets Ltd v Nattrass [1971] 2 WLR 1166, 1196, where the doctrine has, perhaps most famously, been set out by Lord Pearson: ‘there are some officers of a company who may for some purposes be identified with it, as being or having its directing mind and will, its centre or ego, and its brains.’

116 Parsons, ‘Doctrine of Identification’ (n 112) 73.

117 See, for example, Supreme Court judgments Nos 1669/2506 (1963), 54/2507 (1964), 584/2508 (1965), 981/2508 (1965), 448/2513 (1970), 63/2517 (1974), 378-379/2517 (1974), 97/2518 (1975), 1586/2519 (1976).

118 See ibid; n 9 and n 27.

119 Supreme Court judgments Nos 14508/2557 (2014), 2255/2560 (2017).

120 Supreme Court judgments Nos 7250/2554 (2011), 10452/2557 (2014).

121 Supreme Court judgments Nos 13740/2553 (2010), 7455/2554 (2011), 19144/2555 (2012), 833/2561 (2018).

122 Supreme Court judgments Nos 5340/2553 (2010), 8151/2553 (2010), 2451/2555 (2012), 3129/2555 (2012), 12268/2558 (2015), 13583–4/2558 (2015), 8995/2560 (2017).

123 Supreme Court judgments Nos 8511/2554 (2011), 9435/2554 (2011), 14169/2557 (2014), 3493/2562 (2019).

124 Supreme Court judgments Nos 8403/2554 (2011), 12328/2558 (2015).

125 Supreme Court judgments Nos 11089/2557 (2014), 11732/2557 (2014), 7677/2561 (2018).

126 Supreme Court judgments Nos 4196/2558 (2015), 10570/2558 (2015).

127 Supreme Court judgment No 6006/2561 (2018).

128 Supreme Court judgment No 3446/2537 (1994) dealt with the criminal consequences of a massive liquid gas explosion, and judgment No 8565–8566/2558 (2015) followed a deadly fire in a Bangkok night club. Again, parallels may be drawn to an earlier English case, R v P & O European Ferries (Dover) Ltd [1991] 93 Cr App R 72, that had dealt with the sinking of the MS Herald of Free Enterprise. The English court found corporate manslaughter generally conceivable but rejected the shipping company's criminal liability in the case at hand.

129 Teubner (n 15) 12.

130 See, for instance, Daniel Berkowitz, Katharina Pistor & Jean-Francois Richard, ‘The Transplant Effect’ (2003) 51(1) American Journal of Comparative Law 163, 164.

131 Sacco, Rodolfo, ‘Legal Formants: A Dynamic Approach to Comparative Law (Installment II of II)’ (1991) 39(2) American Journal of Comparative Law 343, 398–400Google Scholar.

132 Gilles Cuniberti, ‘Enhancing Judicial Reputation through Legal Transplants: Estoppel Travels to France’ (2012) 60(2) American Journal of Comparative Law 383, 397 et seq, with reference to Nuno Garoupa & Tom Ginsburg, ‘Reputation, Information and the Organization of the Judiciary’ (2009) 4(2) Journal of Comparative Law 228.

133 Watson, Alan, ‘Aspects of Reception of Law’ (1996) 44(2) American Journal of Comparative Law 335, 350CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

134 Miller, Jonathan M, ‘A Typology of Legal Transplants: Using Sociology, Legal History and Argentine Examples to Explain the Transplant Process’ (2003) 51(4) American Journal of Comparative Law 839CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

135 Kien Tran, Nam Ho Pham & Quynh-Anh Lu Nguyen, ‘Negotiating Legal Reform through Reception of Law: The Missing Role of Mixed Legal Transplants’ (2019) 14 Asian Journal of Comparative Law 175.

136 Reekie & Reekie, ‘British Judges’ (n 11) 116–118.

137 On this notion, see Husa (n 35) 140–141, with reference to Mariana Prado & Michael Trebilcock, ‘Path Dependence, Development, and the Dynamics of Institutional Reform’ (2009) 59(3) University of Toronto Law Journal 341, 350 et seq.

138 Act Supplementing the Constitution Regarding the Prevention and Suppression of Corruption B.E. 2561 (2018), s 176 (translation by the Council of State):

(1) Any person who provides, requests or agrees to provide assets or any other benefit to a State official, a foreign State official or a staff of an international organization in order to persuade them to act, omit to act or delay in acting in his or her duties in an unlawful manner, shall be liable to imprisonment for a term of not exceeding five years or to a fine of not exceeding one hundred thousand baht or to both.

(2) In the case where an offender pursuant to paragraph one is a person who is involved with any juristic person and acts for the benefit of that juristic person where such juristic person does not have appropriate internal control measures to prevent such commission of offence, that juristic person shall be guilty under this section and shall be liable to a fine from one time but not exceeding twice of the injury occurred or benefit received.

(3) A juristic person in the meaning of paragraph 2 is every juristic person which has either been established under Thai law, or which has been established under foreign law and which conducts business in Thailand.

(4) A person involved with the juristic person pursuant to paragraph two shall mean an employee, a representative, an affiliated company or any person who acts for or on behalf of such juristic person, whether they have the power or duties in such matter or not.

139 The United Nations Convention against Corruption (art 26) leaves the liability model to the legal principles of each state party. Thailand ratified the Convention in 2011.

140 ร่างฯ ที่ผ่านการพิจารณาของคณะกรรมการพิจารณาปรับปรุงประมวลกฎหมายอาญา, บันทึกหลักการและเหตุผลประกอบร่างพระราชบัญญัติแก้ไขเพิ่มเติมประมวลกฎหมายอาญา [Draft bill that passed the consideration of the Committee to Consider Improving the Criminal Code, Record of principles and reasons for the draft bill amending the Criminal Code] (Office of the Council of State, 2 May 2023) <https://www.krisdika.go.th/th/detail-law-draft-under-consideration-by-the-office-of-the-council-of-state?billCode=414&lawdraftType=between> accessed 31 Aug 2023.

141 ibid s 59/1(1) (author's translation).

142 See Pieth & Ivory (n 2) 30: ‘“organs” being individuals and bodies who act as the corporation under its rules of association in law or in fact and “representatives” being those who have been delegated executive powers within a certain area of corporate operations.’ See also Deckert, Katrin, ‘Corporate Criminal Liability in France’, in Pieth, Mark & Ivory, Radha (eds), Corporate Criminal Liability: Emergence, Convergence, and Risk (Springer 2011) 158–161CrossRefGoogle Scholar.