Three legislative proposals to address strategic lawsuits against public participation are now under consideration in Thailand. The International Commission of Jurists welcomes this progress, but urges the Thai authorities to ensure that any anti-SLAPP law ultimately adopted is consistent with Thailand’s obligations under international human rights law and covers SLAPP cases in all the forms they take in practice.
The three proposals were examined during a panel discussion titled Three Drafts, One Goal: Is Thailand Ready for Anti-SLAPP Legislation?, held at Parliament in Bangkok on 27 August 2026. The event was co-hosted by the International Commission of Jurists, the Rights and Liberties Protection Department of the Ministry of Justice, and the House of Representatives Committee on Political Development, Mass Communications and Public Participation. Eighty-seven participants attended, including members of parliament, civil society representatives, and Justice Sector actors, members of the diplomatic community, and individuals who have been targeted by SLAPP cases.
Thailand’s National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights Phase 2, 2023-2027 tasks the Office of the Attorney General with reviewing, amending, developing, and implementing preventive measures to provide effective safeguards against SLAPP cases. Section 161/1 of the Criminal Procedure Code was introduced in 2019 as an anti-SLAPP tool. It empowers courts to dismiss a case where a private complainant has filed it in bad faith, distorted facts to harass or take undue advantage of the defendant, or sought a benefit to which they are not legally entitled. However, Section 161/1 has rarely been applied to strike out SLAPP litigation.
To address these gaps, the President of the Supreme Court issued Recommendations on adjudicating criminal cases filed in bad faith, published in the Government Gazette on 29 May 2026. The Recommendations clarify what constitutes a bad faith case and standardize court procedure. However, like Section 161/1, they apply only to cases brought directly by a private complainant. On 5 March 2025, Parliament adopted amendments to the Organic Act on Anti-Corruption. These protect individuals who, in good faith, provide information or testimony to the National Anti-Corruption Commission from civil, criminal, and disciplinary liability.
However, this protection remains limited to National Anti-Corruption Commission-related cases and does not address the broader misuse of judicial processes to silence civic engagement.