Bangkok Legal Service

Issue:
Whether the President of the Supreme Court may validly sit and adjudicate a case at the Chiang Mai Provincial Court, together with one judge, due to the sudden illness of the Chief Judge, and whether such composition satisfies the legal requirement of a proper judicial quorum.

Relevant Law:
Under the Thai Act on the Organization of Courts of Justice , Section 24, a Provincial Court must sit as a quorum of not less than two judges, except where otherwise provided by law.
Section 10 grants the President of the Supreme Court general administrative and supervisory authority over courts of justice, including the power to sit and adjudicate cases in any court. However, such authority must be exercised strictly within the procedural framework governing court composition.

Analysis:
Although the President of the Supreme Court possesses authority to preside over proceedings in lower courts, such participation does not override mandatory statutory requirements concerning quorum. The composition of the bench must comply with Section 24, which requires a properly constituted panel.

In this case, the President of the Supreme Court sat with only one additional judge, resulting in an incomplete quorum under the governing law. The President’s administrative authority cannot substitute or cure a defect in judicial composition where the law explicitly prescribes the required number of judges.

Conclusion:
The proceedings are unlawful. The adjudication is invalid due to failure to comply with the statutory requirement of a complete judicial quorum under Section 24 of the Act on the Organization of Courts of Justice, notwithstanding the presence of the President of the Supreme Court.