Translation:Emergency Decree on Public Administration in State of Emergency, 2548 BE

by 55th Cabinet of Thailand

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Seal of the Royal Command

Emergency Decree
on Public Administration in State of Emergency,
2548 BE

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Bhumibol Adulyadej R
Given on the 16th day of July 2548 BE
Being the 60th year of the present reign

His Majesty King Maha Bhumibol Adulyadej is pleased to give a Great Royal Command that it be announced as follows:

Whereas it is appropriate to improve the law on public administration in state of emergency;

This Emergency Decree contains certain provisions relating to the restriction of personal rights and freedoms, which section 29, in conjunction with sections 31, 35, 36, 37, 39, 44, 48, 50, and 51, of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand permits to be done through the powers under legal provisions;

Therefore, by the power under the dispositions of section 218 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand, He is graciously pleased to enact the following Emergency Decree:

Section1.This Emergency Decree is called the Emergency Decree on Public Administration in State of Emergency, 2548 BE.

Section2.This Emergency Decree shall enter into operation from the day following the day of its publication in the Royal Gazette onwards.

Section3.The Act on Public Administration in State of Emergency, 2495 BE, shall be repealed.

Section4.In this Emergency Decree—

“state of emergency” means a situation which affects or may affect public order, or endangers the security of the State, or may subject the Country or any part thereof to a crisis, or involves the commission of an offence of terrorism according to the Criminal Code, fighting, or warfare, in respect of which urgent measures are required for maintenance of the democratic administration with a Monarch as Head according to the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand, the independence and territorial integrity, the interests of the Nation, the observance of law, the safety of the public, the peaceful subsistence of the people, the protection of rights and freedoms, common order or interests, or the aversion, rectification, or remedying of damage from a public calamity which arises in an urgent and severe manner;

“competent officer” means a person appointed by the Prime Minister to perform the duties under this Emergency Decree.

Section5.When a state of emergency appears to have occurred and the Prime Minister finds it appropriate to use forces of administrative or police officials, civil officials, or military officials to jointly effect prevention, rectification, suppression, abatement, rehabilitation, or public aid, the Prime Minister shall have the power to announce, with the approval of the Council of Ministers, a state of emergency to be enforced throughout the Kingdom or in certain territories or localities according to the necessity of the situation. In the event that the approval of the Council of Ministers cannot be sought in time, the Prime Minister may announce the state of emergency first and arrange for it to be approved by the Council of Ministers within three days. If he fails to seek the approval of the Council of Ministers within the designated time or the Council of Ministers refuses to give the approval, the announcement of the mentioned state of emergency shall come to an end.

An announcement of a state of emergency according to paragraph 1 shall be in operation throughout the time period designated by the Prime Minister, but not over three months from the day of the announcement. In the event of necessity to extend the time period, the Prime Minister shall have the power to announce, with the approval of the Council of Ministers, extensions of the operative period not exceeding three months each.

Once the state of emergency has come to an end, or when the Council of Ministers refuses to give the approval, or when the time limit under paragraph 2 has ended, the Prime Minister shall announce repealing the announcement of such state of emergency.

Section6.There shall be a State of Emergency Management Committee composed of the Deputy Prime Minister authorised by the Prime Minister, as President; the Minister of Defence, the Minister of Interior, and the Minister of Justice, as Vice Presidents; the Permanent Secretary for Defence, the Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs, the Permanent Secretary for Social Development and Human Security, the Permanent Secretary for Interior, the Permanent Secretary for Justice, the Director of the National Intelligence Agency, the Attorney General, the Chief of Defence Forces, the Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Army, the Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Navy, the Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Air Force, the Commissioner General of the Royal Thai Police, the Director General of the Provincial Administration Department, and the Director General of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, as Members; and the Secretary General of the National Security Council, as Member and Secretary. It has the powers and duties to follow up and scrutinise the situations which have occurred, both inside and outside the Country, and which may lead to a state of emergency, in order to recommend to the Prime Minister the necessity to announce a state of emergency according to section 5 or a state of severity according to section 11 and the application of appropriate measures according to this Emergency Decree for the purpose of preventing, rectifying, or abating such state of emergency.

The dispositions of this section do not affect the exercise by the Prime Minister of the power to announce a state of emergency according to section 5 when there is an incident of urgent necessity which may endanger the Country or the people.

Section7.⁠In the territories or localities where a state of emergency has been announced according to section 5, all the powers and duties which belong to a minister heading one or several ministries, or which he is in charge of or has according to any law whatever, shall transfer to the Prime Minister as his temporary powers and duties only in respect of the giving of permission, endorsement, orders, commands, or assistance in the prevention, rectification, suppression, or abatement of the state of emergency, or the rehabilitation of or giving of assistance to people, in order that the giving of orders and the rectification of the situation be in a uniform, prompt, and effective manner.

The powers and duties of a minister under any law which shall become the powers and duties of the Prime Minister according to paragraph 1, whether in whole or in part, shall be as designated by announcements of the Council of Ministers.

The Prime Minister shall have the power to appoint persons as competent officers for performing the duties under this Emergency Decree and for performing the work under the laws which has been transferred to him as his powers and duties in accordance with paragraph 1. It shall be deemed that the persons appointed as competent officers hold the powers under those laws. In this respect, the Prime Minister may authorise the public entities or competent officers under those laws to continue exercising the powers and duties as before, but they must perform their work in line with the criteria designated by the Prime Minister.

In the event that the Prime Minister appoints as a competent officer a civil, police, or military public servant whose position is not lower than director general, police commander, military commander, or an equivalent, and designates him as chief officer responsible for rectification of the state of emergency on the spot and in command of the public servants and competent officers engaged in this activity, the performance of duties by the relevant public entities and public servants as well as by the competent officers shall be as ordered by such chief officer. However, the performance of military duties shall be governed by the statutes, regulations, or rules relating to the use of military forces, but not contrary to the guidelines designated by the person appointed as chief officer.

In the event of necessity, the Council of Ministers may permit the establishment of special ad hoc agencies to temporarily perform the duties under this Emergency Decree until the announcement of the state of emergency is repealed.

The Prime Minister may authorise one or several Deputy Prime Ministers to exercise the power under paragraph 1, 3, or 4 on his behalf, or may authorise them to supervise the performance of work by the relevant public entities, the competent officers under paragraph 3, the chief officer under paragraph 4, and the agencies under paragraph 5, and they shall be deemed to be in command of the chief officer and the relevant public servants and competent officers.

Section8.For the purpose of coordinating the performance of work in the areas where a state of emergency has been announced so that it be carried out appropriately and in line with the nature of the incident and the livelihoods of the people within the bounds of those areas, the Prime Minister or the person authorised by the Prime Minister may give an order appointing persons or groups of persons as advisors on the performance of work by the competent officers or as assistants to the competent officers in the performance of the duties under this Emergency Decree.

The persons appointed in accordance with paragraph 1 shall enjoy the same protection as that for the performance of work by the competent officers, subject to the scope of the duties for which they are appointed.

Section9.In the event of necessity for prompt rectification and termination of a state of emergency or for prevention of more severe incidents from happening, the Prime Minister shall have the power to issue the following ordinances:

(1)prohibition of any persons from leaving their dwellings during the designated period of time, save where they have obtained permission from competent officers or are exempt persons;

(2)prohibition of assemblies or gatherings at any places or the commission of any acts which instigate disorder;

(3)prohibition of presentation of news or distribution or circulation of written materials, printed materials, or any other materials whose contents may subject people to fear or contain intentionally distorted information which causes misunderstanding about the state of emergency to the degree that affects the security of the State, peace and order, or good morals of the people, both within the bounds of the areas where the state of emergency has been announced and throughout the Kingdom;

(4)prohibition of the use of transportation routes or use of vehicles, or designation of conditions on the use of transportation routes or use of vehicles;

(5)prohibition of the use of buildings or entry into or stay in any places;

(6)evacuation of people from the designated areas for their safety or prohibition of any persons from entering the designated areas.

The ordinances under paragraph 1 may be subject to time clauses governing their observance or conditions governing the performance of work by competent officers, or may authorise competent officers to designate additional areas and details in order to prevent a performance which causes immoderate trouble to people.

Section10.For the purpose of enabling expeditious rectification of the problems in the areas where the state of emergency occurs, the Prime Minister may authorise the competent officer who has been appointed chief officer according to section 7, paragraph 4, to exercise the power to issue the ordinances under section 9 on his behalf. But once this has been done, a report must promptly be made to the Prime Minister for his information, and if the Prime Minister does not give the same ordinances within forty-eight hours from the time the competent officer issued the ordinances, those ordinances shall cease to be in operation.

Section11.In the event that the state of emergency involves terrorism or the use of forcible violence against lives, bodies, or property, or there is a reasonable belief that an act of such seriousness as would affect the security of the State or the safety of the lives or property of the State or people is being committed, and it is necessary to rectify the problems with dispatch so as to terminate them in an effective and timely manner, the Prime Minister shall have the power to announce, with the approval of the Council of Ministers, such state of emergency to be a state of severity, and the dispositions of sections 5 and 6, paragraph 2, shall apply mutatis mutandis.

Upon issuance of the announcement under paragraph 1, the Prime Minister shall also have the following powers in addition to the powers under sections 7, 8, 9, and 10:

(1)to announce granting the competent officers the power to arrest and hold the persons suspected of participating in the acts which cause the state of emergency, or of being abettors, propagators, or aiders in those acts, or of concealing information about the acts which cause the state of emergency, only to the extent necessary for preventing them from committing or joining in the commission of any acts which would lead to a severe incident or for generating cooperation in the abatement of a severe incident;

(2)to announce granting the competent officers the power to order any persons to report to them or to appear and give statements or submit any documents or evidence relating to the state of emergency;

(3)to announce granting the competent officers the power to order seizure or attachment of weapons, goods, consumables, chemical substances, or any other objects in the event that they are reasonably believed to have been used or to be used for causing or aiding the causing of the state of emergency;

(4)to announce granting the competent officers the power to order search, demolition, removal, or destruction of buildings, structures, or barriers as necessary for the performance of the duties to promptly abate and terminate a severe incident where a delay might render timely abatement of the situation impossible;

(5)to announce granting the competent officers the power to order censorship of letters, written materials, printed materials, telegrams, telephone [conversations], or any other communications, and to order abatement or termination of the making of any contacts or communications in order to prevent or abate a severe incident, in respect of which the criteria designated in the law on special investigation must be observed mutatis mutandis;

(6)to announce prohibiting the doing of any acts or requiring any acts to be done, only to the extent necessary for maintenance of the security of the State, the safety of the Country, or the safety of the public;

(7)to announce granting the competent officers the power to order prohibition of any persons from leaving the Kingdom when there is a reasonable belief that their leaving of the Kingdom would affect the security of the State or the safety of the Country;

(8)to announce granting the competent officers the power to order aliens to leave the Kingdom in the event that they are reasonably believed to have been aiders in the acts of causing of the state of emergency, in respect of which the law on immigration shall apply mutatis mutandis;

(9)to announce requiring the purchase, sale, use, or possession of weapons, goods, medical supplies, consumables, chemical substances, or appliances of any kind which may be used to cause unrest or commit terrorism to be reported to or permitted by a competent officer or to follow the conditions designated by the Prime Minister;

(10)to order the use of military forces to assist administrative or police officials in abating a severe incident or controlling the situation in order to expeditiously restore order, in the performance of which functions the military shall bear the same powers and duties as those belonging to the competent officers under this Emergency Decree and shall be able to exercise those powers and duties on the occasions and to the extent permitted by the conditions and time clauses designated by the Prime Minister, but not in excess of the cases where martial law is enforced.

Upon termination of the severe incident under paragraph 1, the Prime Minister shall promptly announce repealing the announcements made under this section.

Section12.In arresting and holding a suspect according to an announcement made under section 11(1), a competent officer shall apply to the court of competent jurisdiction or Criminal Court for permission to carry out the action. Upon obtaining permission from the court, the competent officer shall have the power to arrest the person and hold him for not over seven days, and such person must be held at a designated place which is not a police station, detention house, penal institution, or prison, and shall not be treated as if being an offender. In the event that it is necessary to continue holding him for the sake of the rectification of the state of emergency, the competent officer shall apply to the court for extending the period of holding for seven more days at a time, but the total period of holding must not be more than thirty days. Upon completion of the time limit, if the person needs to be held further, he shall be proceeded with in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code.

In carrying out the action under paragraph 1, the competent officer shall produce a report relating to the arrest and holding of such person and submit it to the court granting the permission under paragraph 1, and shall keep copies thereof at his office for relatives of such person to inspect throughout the period of time the person is held.

The provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code relating to the procedure of the application for a criminal warrant shall apply mutatis mutandis to the application for the permission of the court under paragraph 1.

Section13.If the articles or appliances announced in accordance with section 11(9) are devices used for communication or are parts thereof, the Prime Minister may announce that the mentioned measures be applied throughout the Kingdom or in other areas than those where the state of emergency has been announced.

Section14.The ordinances, announcements, and orders made under sections 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, and 15 shall also be published in the Royal Gazette upon entry into operation.

Section15.The competent officers or persons having the same powers and duties as the competent officers under this Emergency Decree shall be the officers under the Criminal Code and shall have the powers and duties of the administrative or police officials under the Criminal Procedure Code as designated by announcements of the Prime Minister.

Section16.The ordinances, announcements, orders, or acts done under this Emergency Decree are not subject to the law on administrative procedure and the law on establishment of administrative courts and administrative case procedure.

Section17.The competent officers and the persons having the same powers and duties as the competent officers under this Emergency Decree are not liable, whether civilly, criminally, or disciplinarily, on account of the performance of duties of abating or preventing illegal acts, if they acted in good faith, without discrimination, and within moderate or necessary limits. But this does not exclude the rights of the injured persons to claim damages from the public sector according to the law on tort liabilities of officials.

Section18.Anyone who contravenes an ordinance, announcement, or order issued in accordance with section 9, 10, 11, or 13, shall be punished with imprisonment of not over two years, or a fine not over forty thousand baht, or both the imprisonment and the fine.

Section19.The Prime Minister shall be in charge of the implementation of this Emergency Decree.

Countersignature
Police Lieutenant Colonel Thaksin Shinawatra
Prime Minister

Note: The grounds for promulgation of this Emergency Decree are as follows: As the law on public administration in state of emergency has been in application for a long time, their provisions can no longer be used for expeditious rectification and termination of various forms of situations which affect the security of the State and cannot be used for rectification of the problems caused by public calamities and for rehabilitation of the lives of the people who have sustained damage therefrom. Furthermore, at present, there are problems relating to the security of the State, of which the severity is increasing to the point of being likely to affect the independence and territorial integrity and bring about unrest and disorder in the Country, in addition to causing danger and trouble to the public to the degree of preventing them from living their lives normally and peacefully, and which cannot be resolved by the usual forms of public administration. It is appropriate to designate special measures for the public administration during a state of emergency, in order to enable the State to maintain its security and safety and restore the rights and freedoms of all people to normalcy expeditiously. This is thus an event of emergency with urgent and unavoidable necessity to maintain the safety of the Country and the safety of the public and to avert public calamities. It is therefore necessary to enact this Emergency Decree.