The Kingdom of Thailand adopts a democratic regime of government with the King as Head of the State and the Constitution is the supreme law of the state.
The Constitution vests that the trial and adjudication of cases are the powers of the Courts. Judges perform their duties in the name of the King and are assured of independence in adjudicating cases according to the law.
Before August 20, 2000, the Ministry of Justice was responsible for the administrative works of all courts. At present, according to the Act on Judicial Administration of the Court of Justice, the Office of the Judiciary is an independent official organization having a status of a juristic person and has powers and duties regarding the administrative works of the Court of Justice, the judicial affairs and the judicial technical affairs in order to support and facilitate the Courts of Justice as well as to ensure that trial and adjudication are carried out expediently, speedily and efficiently. This change will guarantee independence of the Thai Judiciary from political interference.
The Court of Justice shall have general jurisdiction over civil and criminal matters. In addition, there are other bodies exercising judicial powers in specific jurisdiction, namely the Constitutional Court, the Administrative Court, and the Military Court. The Constitutional Court reviews the legality of any bill or law as well as verifies the qualification of the MPs, Senate, and Ministers of the Cabinet. The Administrative Court hears cases about state contracts and disputes involving state agencies or state officials – whether it be the issuing of rules, orders, actions or the dereliction of their duties. The jurisdiction of the Military Court includes cases concerning disciplinary issues of the military officers and disputes between military officers under the related military laws. In the case of a dispute on the competent jurisdictions between the Court of Justice, the Administrative Court, or the Military Court, a ruling shall be made by a committee consisting of the President of the Supreme Court as Chairperson, the President of the Supreme Administrative Court, the Chief of Military Judicial Office and not more than four qualified persons as provided by law as members. The rules and procedures for ruling on a dispute on the competent jurisdictions.