PUBLIC ASSEMBLY ACT,
B.E. 2558 (2015)
BHUMIBOL
ADULYADEJ, REX.
Given
on the 9th Day of July B.E. 2558;
Being
the 70th Year of the Present Reign.
His
Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej is graciously pleased to proclaim that:
Whereas it is expedient
to have a law on public assembly;
Be
it, therefore, enacted by the King, by and with the advice and consent of the
National Legislative Assembly, as follows:
Section 1. This Act is called the “Public Assembly
Act, B.E. 2558”.
Section 2. This Act shall come into force at the
expiration of thirty days as from the date of its publication in the Government
Gazette.
Section 3. This Act shall not apply to the following
public assemblies:
(1) assembly on the course of Royal Ceremony or State
Ceremony;
(2) assembly on the course of religious rituals,
traditional activity or local culture;
(3) assembly in entertainment, sport or tourism
promotion event, or any other activity being held for commercial purpose of the
promoter;
(4) assembly within education institution;
(5) assembly or public gathering under the
provisions of law or academic meeting or seminar of any education institution
or any agency for academic purpose;
(6) public assembly while the State of Emergency
is declared or while the Martial Law is applied and public assembly being held
for the purpose of campaigning during an election period shall comply with the
law related thereto.
Section
4. In this Act:
“Public
assembly” means an assembly of individuals in public place so as to express
their common petition, support, opposition or opinion on any matter to the
public and any individual is able to attend such assembly freely irrespective
of whether such assembly composing of public procession or marching;
“Public place” means a
piece of land or a construction which is State’s property for public use or
preserved for public utilization or which is not belong to State agency but
being in possession of or used by State agency and the people is able to enter
therein legally, including highway and public way;
“Highway” means the highway
under the law on highway;
“Public way” means any way
or waterway used by the public, including rail of any rail system used for public
transportation;
“Promoter” means a
person who causes to have public assembly, and includes a person who desires to
promote public assembly and a person who actively encourages or begs another to
attend public assembly by expressing or behaving any act to convince another
that he is an promoter or co-promoter of that assembly;
“Participant” includes a
promoter and a person participating public assembly irrespective of whether
such person attends public assembly upon an encouragement or begging of the promoter;
“State agency” means a
government agency, State enterprise, government organization, public
organization, local administrative organization, Constitutional organization
and other State agencies;
“Authority” means the chief
of police station of the area where public assembly is to be held or any other
person entrusted as authority under this Act;
“Minister” means the
Minister having charge and control of the execution of this Act.
Section 5. The Prime Minister shall have charge and control
of the execution of this Act and shall have the power to issue the notification
for the execution of this Act.
Such notification shall
come into force upon its publication in the Government Gazette.
Chapter 1
General Provisions
Section 6. Public assembly shall be in peaceful
manner and without arms.
The exercise of rights
and liberties of a participant in any public assembly shall be subjected to the
scope of rights and liberties as provided by the Constitution and law.
Section 7. No public assembly shall be held within
the radius of one hundred and fifty meters from the boundary of the Grand
Palace, Royal Palace, Royal Residence of the Heir to the Throne or of His or
Her Royal Highness Prince or Princess, Royal Palace Up-Country or Royal Mansion
or from the place where the King, the Queen, the Heir to the Throne or His or
Her Royal Highness Prince or Princess stays or resides, or from the place of
Royal Visitors.
No public assembly shall
be held within the National Assembly, the Government House and the Courts;
provided that, the specific place for public assembly is provided therein.
The Courts under
paragraph two mean the Constitutional Court, the Court of Justice, the
Administrative Court, the Military Court and other Courts established by law.
In case of necessary and
for the maintenance of public safety and public order, the Commissioner General
of the Royal Thai Police or his entrusted person shall, after having considered
the numbers of participant and related circumstances of each public assembly,
have the power to notify no public assembly zone within the radius of not
exceeding fifty meters from the boundary of the places under paragraph two.
Section 8. No public assembly shall obstruct gateway
of, impede the performance of duties of, or hinder access to service of, the
followings:
(1) State agencies’ office;
(2) airport, wharf, rail station or any other
public transport station;
(3) hospital, education institution and
religious establishment;
(4) embassy or consulate of foreign State or
office of international organization;
(5) other places as notified by the Minister.
Section
9. A State agency may provide specific
place for public assembly.
The
provision of the specific place for public assembly under this section is not
prejudice to the liberty of the people to organize public assembly in any other
public place.
The
provisions of Chapter 2, Notification of Public Assembly, shall not apply to
the public assembly held within the place under paragraph one.
Chapter 2
Notification of
Public Assembly
Section 10. Whoever intends to cause to have public
assembly shall notify the authority at least twenty four hours prior to begin
that public assembly.
It shall be deemed that
the person who encourages or begs another by any means to attend public
assembly on specific date, time and place as well as the applicant for the use
of public place or amplifier for public assembly or who requests for official facilitation
for public assembly is a person who desires to cause to have public assembly
under paragraph one.
The notification shall
identify objective of, and date, time and place for, public assembly in
accordance with the procedure notified by the Minister. Such procedure shall be facilitative and
shall also be made via information technology.
Section 11. The authority shall, upon receiving of public
assembly notification, send summary of public assembly under this Act to the
person who made that notification within twenty four hours as from the time he
received that notification.
In the case where the authority
is of opinion that such notification may be contrary to section 7 or section 8,
he shall order the person who made that notification to act in compliance
therewith within specific period.
If the person who made
notification fails to comply with the order under paragraph two, the authority
shall have the power to prohibit that public assembly and shall notify that
person in writing.
If the person who made
notification does not agree with the order of the authority under paragraph
three, he shall appeal against such order to the superintendent of that authority. The superintendent shall in this case complete
and notify his decision on such appeal to the appellant within twenty four
hours. The decision on such appeal shall
be final.
If suspension order is
given, no public assembly shall be held during an appeal procedure.
Section 12. If the person who intends to cause to have public
assembly is unable to make notification within the period under section 10, he
shall notify his intention together with an application for extension of such
period to the Commander of police of Bangkok Metropolitan or Commander of
police of each Changwat, as the case may be, prior to
begin that public assembly.
The provisions of
section 10 paragraph three shall apply to the notification under paragraph one mutatis
mutandis.
The Commander of police
under paragraph one shall notify his order to the applicant for information
within twenty four hours as from the time he receives the application.
Section 13. The authority under section 11 and the
Commander of police under section 12 shall be the competent official under the
Criminal Procedure Code.
Section 14. The public assembly held in violation of
section 6 or without notification under section 10 or in contrary to the order
of the authority under section 11 or after the applicant receives the written
order of refusing the extension of the notification period under section 12
shall be deemed illegal public assembly.
Chapter 3
Duties of Promoter and Participant
Section 15. A promoter shall have the duties as follows:
(1) overseeing and supervising public assembly
to be in peaceful manner and without arms within the scope of the rights and
liberties under the Constitution;
(2) overseeing and supervising public assembly
from being obstacle of the public in using of public place immoderately, and overseeing
and supervising the participant to act in compliance with section 16;
(3) making the participant known of his duties
under section 16 as well as conditions or orders imposed by the surveillant
officer;
(4) providing cooperation with the surveillant
officer for the accomplishment of (1) and (2);
(5) refraining from encouraging, inciting or
inducing participant to violate section 16;
(6) not using amplifier for public speaking or for
doing any activity during 24.00 hours to 06.00 hours;
(7) not using electric amplifier with power or
pitch as notified by the Commissioner General of the Royal Thai Police.
Section 16. A participant shall have the duties as
follows:
(1) not being obstructed the public from using
of the public place where the public assembly is held or causing unreasonable
inconvenience to any person;
(2) not being dressed to conceal or camouflage
himself from being identified intentionally; provided that, there is usual traditional
dressing;
(3) not taking any weapon, firework, replica gun
or anything that may be used as weapon into the place where public assembly held
irrespective of whether he is licensed to bare such thing;
(4) not trespassing of, or damaging, destroying
or causing unusable of, property of other persons;
(5) not placing any person in the state of fear
of injury to his life, body, property or liberty;
(6) not committing any act of violence or
threatening to cause injury to other participants or any other person;
(7) not obstructing or doing any act which may
obstruct the performance of duties of the competent official in rendering
facilitation to the public in using of the public place or in taking care of
that public assembly;
(8) not conducting public precession or marching
during 18.00 hours to 06.00 hours; provided that, permission granted by the surveillant
officer;
(9) complying with the conditions imposed by, or
order of, the surveillant officer.
Section
17. If no public procession or
marching has been included in the public assembly notification, the public
procession or marching may be conducted only if the notification thereon has
been made to the chief of the police station who is responsible for that public
assembly.
Section
18. A participant shall adjourn the
public assembly within the period in which the promoter notified to the
authority.
If
the promoter desires to continue public assembly, he shall notify such
extension to the authority within twenty four hours prior to the expiration of
the period under paragraph one.
Chapter 4
Public Facilitation and Surveillance
of Public Assembly
Section
19. The chief of police station of
the area where public assembly is held shall surveille that public assembly to
be compliant with this Act and shall notify the administrative officer who is
responsible for, or the local administration organization of, the area where
that public assembly is held or public relation agency of State or private in
that area for their information.
In
the case where public assembly covers responsible area of many police stations,
the police commander or the commissioner, as the case may be, who is
responsible for those area shall be surveillant officer under paragraph one.
The
Commissioner General of the Royal Thai Police may, if he thinks fit, appoint
another police officer to be additional surveillant officer or to be in place
of the surveillant officer under paragraph one or paragraph two.
The
surveillant officer shall, in order to maintain public facilitation, to surveil
public assembly and to protect public order or good moral, have the following
powers and duties:
(1)
to provide facilitation to the public in using of the public place in which
public assembly is held;
(2)
to provide safety, facilitation or lessening nuisance to the people living
nearby the public place in which public assembly is held;
(3)
to provide safety and facilitation to the participant presenting in public
assembly;
(4)
to provide facilitation to traffic and public transportation in the place where
public assembly is held as well as the adjacent area with a view to lessen
impacts to public caused by that public assembly;
(5)
to impose condition or order to be complied with by the promoter, the
participant or any other person staying within the place where the public
assembly is held for the performance of duties under (1), (2), (3) or (4).
For
the performance of duties under this section, the surveillant officer may
temporarily close or divert traffic in any public way so as to maintain public
facilitation or to surveil public assembly.
The
administrative officer or local administration organization or State official
in the area where the public assembly is held shall, upon request of the
surveillant officer, act in compliance with such request if so is subjected to
his powers and duties.
The
surveillant officer and police officer to be entrusted to surveil public
assembly shall obtain training to have good skill, attitude and endurance on public
assembly and shall wear uniform. The surveillant
officer may apply crowded control equipment as notified by the Minister.
Section
20. The Royal Thai Police and public
relation agency of State shall, before, during and after public assembly,
conduct or coordinate with others to inform the public, from time to time, the
place and duration of public assembly as well as the most comfortable traffic or
public transportation route so as to ensure that that public assembly produces
unnecessary burden to the public as little as possible.
Section
21. If there is an illegal public
assembly under section 14 or the promoter or participant violates section 7 or
fails to comply with section 8, section 15, section 16, section 17 or section
18, the surveillant officer shall:
(1)
in case of illegal public assembly under section 14 or public assembly is not
adjourn within the period as notified to the authority under section 18, notice
the participant to adjourn that public assembly within the period as imposed by
the surveillant officer;
(2)
in the case where the promoter or participant violates section 7 or fails to
comply with section 8, section 15, section 16, section 17 or section 18, notice
the participant to make correction within the period as imposed by the
surveillant officer.
In
the case where the participant fails to comply with the notice under paragraph
one, the surveillant officer shall request the Civil Court or Changwat
Court having jurisdiction over the place where the public assembly is held for
the order to adjourn that public assembly. In awaiting the Court’s order, the surveillant
officer shall have the power to do any necessary act in accordance with the
plan or guideline for surveillance of public assembly as approved by the
Council of Ministers upon recommendation of the Royal Thai Police so as to
maintain public facilitation and to protect public assembly.
The
plan or guideline for surveillance of public assembly under paragraph two shall
request the surveillant officer to refrain from using of force. In the circumstance that the use of force is
unavoidable, the use of force and the application of crowded control equipment
shall be done necessarily.
The
performance of the surveillant officer under this section is not prejudice to
the right of other person who suffers or damages from that public assembly to
request the Civil Court or Changwat Court having jurisdiction over the
place where the public assembly is held for the order to adjourn that public
assembly.
Section
22. The Court shall, upon receiving
the request under section 22, consider that request urgently.
If
it appears to the Court that the participant fails to comply with the notice of
the surveillant officer made under section 21, the Court shall have an order
altogether with the decree to enforce such order requiring the participant to
adjourn that public assembly within the period as imposed by the Court.
The
order of the Court under paragraph two may be appealed to the Appeal Court or
Regional Appeal Court. The order of the
Appeal Court or Regional Appeal Court shall be final and conclusive.
The
execution officer shall post up the order of the Court at the place which is
easily seen around the area where public assembly is held and shall notify that
order in any manner whatsoever so as to make it known to the participant and
the general public.
Section
23. If the participant fails to
comply with the Court order within the period imposed therein, the surveillant
officer shall report the Court for information and notify the area where the
public assembly is held and its vicinity as necessary as the restricted
area. The surveillant officer shall
inform the participant to leave the restricted area within the imposed period
and prohibit any person from entering the restricted area without permission of
the surveillant officer. The surveillant
officer shall then report the Minister for information.
The
Commander of the Metropolitan Police in Bangkok Metropolitan or Changwat
Governor in other Changwat or any person entrusted by the Minister
shall, upon the notification of the restricted area under paragraph one, have
charge and control to disperse that public assembly in compliant with the
Court’s order.
In
case of necessity, the Minister may entrust other person to have charge and
control to disperse that public assembly.
Section
24. After the expiration of period
to leave the restricted area, if the participant still be in that area or enters
into that area without permission of the surveillant officer, that person is
deemed to commit flagrant offense and the person having charge and control to disperse
the public assembly or his entrusted person shall disperse that public assembly
in compliant with the Court’s order. In
this regard, the person having charge and control to disperse the public
assembly or his entrusted person shall have the powers as follow:
(1)
to arrest any person who still be in that area or enters into that area without
permission of the surveillant officer;
(2)
to search, seize, attach or remove any property which is used or having for use
in that public assembly;
(3)
to do any necessary act in accordance with the plan or guideline for
surveillance of public assembly under section 21;
(4)
to have any prohibition order for the benefit of dispersion of public assembly.
The
provisions of section 19 paragraph seven shall apply to the person who performs
the duty under paragraph one mutatis mutandis.
Section
25. In the case where the
participant commits any violent and harmful act which may affect life, body,
mentality or property of others and may give rise to public unrest, the
surveillant officer shall have the power to order the participant to stop doing
such act. If the participant fails to
comply with such order, the surveillant officer and the person having charge
and control to disperse the public assembly and his entrusted person shall have
the power to proceed with section 23 and section 24.
The
participant who does not agree with the order under paragraph one may oppose
that order to the Civil Court or Changwat Court having jurisdiction over
the area where the public assembly is held within thirty days as from the date
that order is made. The order of the
Court under this section may be appealed to the Appeal Court or Regional Appeal
Court. The order of the Appeal Court or
Regional Appeal Court shall be final and conclusive.
Section
26. The surveillant officer, the
person having charge and control to disperse the public assembly and his
entrusted person or any person who acts in compliance with the order of such
persons shall be the official under the Penal Code and shall also be the
administrative officer or police under the Criminal Procedure Code.
Chapter 5
Penalties
Section
27. Whoever violates section 7 or
section 8 shall be liable to imprisonment for a term of not exceeding six
months or to a fine of not exceeding ten thousand Baht or to both.
Section
28. Whoever violates section 10,
section 12, section 17 or section 18 shall be liable to a fine of not exceeding
ten thousand Baht.
Section
29. Whoever violates the public
assembly prohibition order or causes to have public assembly during the period
the public assembly prohibition order is valid under section 11 shall be liable
to imprisonment for a term of not exceeding six months or to a fine of not
exceeding ten thousand Baht or to both.
Section
30. A promoter who fails to comply
with section 15 (1), (2) or (3) or a participant who fails to comply with
section 16 (1) or (2) shall be liable to a fine of not exceeding ten thousand
Baht.
Section
31. A promoter who fails to comply
with section 15 (4), (5), (6) or (7) or a participant who fails to comply with
section 16 (3), (4), (5), (6), (7) or (8) shall be liable to imprisonment for a
term of not exceeding six months or to a fine of not exceeding ten thousand
Baht or to both.
If the commission of an offense
under paragraph one causes unusableness, temporarily or permanently, of public
transportation system, communication or telecommunication system, generation,
production or transmission system of electricity or irrigation, or any other
public utility system, the promoter shall be liable to imprisonment for a term
of not exceeding ten years or to a fine of not exceeding two hundred thousand
Baht or to both.
Section
32. Whoever fails to comply with the
order or notification of the surveillant officer under section 19 (5) or
section 23 and he is a promoter or participant, he shall be liable to
imprisonment for a term of not exceeding one year or to a fine of not exceeding
twenty thousand Baht or to both; but if he is not that sort of person but
staying in the public assembly area, he shall be liable to a fine of not
exceeding ten thousand Baht.
The Court may, upon appropriate
ground, impose a penalty on the offender less than the penalty as prescribed
above or lift up penalty thereto.
Section
33. Whoever fails to comply with the
order of the person having charge and control of the dispersion of public
assembly under section 23 or section 25 shall be liable to imprisonment for a
term of not exceeding three years or to a fine of not exceeding sixty thousand
Baht or to both.
The Court may, upon appropriate
ground, impose a penalty on the offender less than the penalty as prescribed
above or lift up penalty thereto.
Section
34. A person who is not entrusted by
the surveillant officer or the person having charge and control of the dispersion
of public assembly or his entrusted person to perform the duties under this Act
takes any weapon into the public assembly place, regardless of his license to
carry out that weapon, shall be liable to imprisonment for a term of not
exceeding three years or to a fine of not exceeding sixty thousand Baht or to both.
If the weapon under paragraph one is
a gun, explosive or alike, the offender 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.
Section 35. All properties used or to be used in public
assembly which is seized from an illegal public assembly or a public assembly
in violation of adjourning order of the Court shall be confiscated by the Court
irrespective of whether there is a convict under the judgment of the Court.
Countersigned by:
General Prayut Chan-o-cha
Prime Minister
