51/29-51-30 Village No. 4, Ban Suan Subdistrict, Mueang District, Chonburi Province
Currently, recording video or recording sound Can be done very easily via mobile phone. Therefore, we often record audio clips or video clips when there are disputes.
In which the audio recording or video recording was made with the consent of the other party or the other party already knew that it was being recorded audio or video recording Such audio clips or video clips It can be used as evidence in both civil and criminal cases.
But in the case where the recording or video recording was done secretly without the other party knowing. Or is it secretly recorded? Can it be used as evidence in court?
Determining whether an audio clip or video clip can be used as evidence or not. Must be divided into 2 cases: criminal cases and civil cases because both types of cases have different principles regarding hearing evidence.
Criminal Case
Principles of Law, Criminal Procedure Code
Section 226 Material evidence, documentary evidence, or personal witness which is likely to prove the defendant’s guilt or innocence. Can be cited as evidence But it must be a kind of witness that does not come from persuasion. Contains promises, threats, deception, or any other form of misconduct. and investigate according to the provisions of this Code or other laws regarding the examination of witnesses.
Section 226/1๑ In the case where it appears to the court that Which evidence is legitimate evidence but was obtained due to wrongful acts? or is evidence obtained by relying on information that occurred or was obtained illegally. The court is prohibited from hearing that evidence. unless listening to the evidence will be more beneficial to the administration of justice than the harm caused by the impact on the standards of the criminal justice system or the basic rights and freedoms of the people.
In exercising discretion, listening to evidence according to paragraph one. Let the court consider all the circumstances of the case. The following factors must be taken into account as well.
(1) Probative value, importance, and reliability of that evidence.
(2) Circumstances and seriousness of the offense in the case< /h3>
(3) Nature and damage caused by wrongful acts
(4) A person who commits an illegal act which causes evidence to be obtained. Was it punished or not? To what extent?
Description
In a criminal case, an audio clip or video clip is considered a type of evidence which can prove that the defendant is truly guilty or innocent according to the Criminal Procedure Code, Section 226, and can Can be used as evidence.
However, if the audio clip or video clip was secretly recorded in violation of the law. or was secretly recorded without the other party knowing The Supreme Court interpreted that The said evidence was obtained from an illegal act, so the court could not listen to the said witness.
But this prohibition is not an absolute prohibition in any way. The law also allows for the hearing of such evidence if style=”font-weight: 400;”>Hearing evidence will be beneficial to the administration of justice. More than the negative effects resulting from the impact on the standards of the criminal justice system or the basic rights and freedoms of the people.
Mainly in weighing whether one should listen or not listen to the said clip. The court must weigh the following factors.
(1) Probative value, importance, and reliability of that evidence
If such evidence is really important court evidence. to convict the defendant or to prove the defendant’s innocence and is highly reliable
For example, such audio or video clips. It clearly shows that the defendant did not commit a crime. Because someone else committed the crime.
or such audio clip or video clip clearly shows that the defendant committed an offense. Because there is a clip of the incident when the defendant committed the crime, the defendant’s face can be clearly seen.
Like this It is considered that such evidence is weighty evidence. has probative value The court may also listen to the audio clip or video clip.
(2) Circumstances and seriousness of the offense in the case
If the case is only a minor matter, a personal offense, not a serious matter or of interest to the general public. This is one part where the court may not listen to evidence arising from such unlawful acts.
On the other hand, if the case is serious Have cruel and barbaric behavior It is of interest to the general public. As such, the weather will be a part that the court will use to analyze and weigh whether such evidence should be heard.
(3) Nature and damage caused by wrongful acts
If secretly recording or secretly filming such clips Causing serious damage to the other party, causing embarrassment corruption As such, it is considered that such an illegal act may cause serious damage to the other party. The court may not accept such evidence.
But if secretly cutting or secretly filming such clips does not cause any damage to the other party at all. As such, the court may use it as part of listening to such evidence.
(4) Has the person who acted illegally which resulted in the obtaining of evidence been punished or not?
If secretly recording or recording such video clips is a violation of the law such as trespassing. It is an illegal interception of telephone signals. You must see whether the offender has been punished or not.
If the offender has received a reasonable punishment, it may be a part that the court will use to consider hearing such evidence. But if the offender is not punished at all As such, this may be the part where the court may not come to listen to such evidence.
Comparison of Supreme Court judgments
Supreme Court Judgment No. 3782/2021
It is a defamation case. which is a personal offense It is not a serious matter or of interest to the general public. The court also did not listen to the audio clip from the illegal conversation.
The action of Mr. Th., who secretly took a mobile phone to record the conversation between the defendant and Mr. Th. and the interlocutor during the meeting. The defendant did not know that while he was talking, The conversation was recorded on the mobile phone. It would clearly affect the personal rights and freedoms of the defendant. Therefore, it is an illegal pursuit of evidence which is prohibited from listening to that evidence. According to the Criminal Procedure Code, Section 226, even though the said legal principles are used to exclude evidence from government officials in order to protect people’s rights and freedoms, State officials are prohibited from seeking evidence illegally. However, according to the Criminal Procedure Code, Section 226 does not prohibit the use of evidence seeking by natural persons. Therefore, it also applies to cases where the injured private party obtained evidence from an illegal act. As for the exemption for hearing evidence obtained illegally according to the Criminal Procedure Code, Section 226/1, it must be listened to with care and all circumstances of the case must be considered, taking into account various factors as specified by law. In this case, both plaintiffs sued to punish the defendant for defamation. which is a dispute between private entities and it is a permissible offense The circumstances of the offense in the case are therefore not an issue.
Serious that affects the security of the state or the public interests of the people as a whole; The nature of the case is still within the scope of the two plaintiffs being able to find evidence through honest means. Legal Come to prove the guilt of the defendant. Allowing the hearing of evidence obtained by the two plaintiffs by seeking evidence illegally is equivalent to allowing the two plaintiffs to add evidence to the parts that their evidence was lacking. in order to punish the defendant alone Both are a violation of the defendant’s personal rights and affect the rights and freedoms of the people. which is contrary to the basic principles of general criminal proceedings. Listening to the evidence It is not beneficial to the administration of justice. Instead, it will be more detrimental than affecting the standards of the criminal justice system or the basic rights and freedoms of the people. Therefore, the voice recording and messages from the conversation transcripts cannot be listened to as evidence to prove the defendant’s guilt.
Supreme Court Judgment No. 2281/2012
It was a case of police officers breaking into the house and extorting property from the victim. The circumstances of the case are very serious. The court also listened to the audio clip of the conversation as evidence in the case.
Secretly taping a conversation between the plaintiff and the witness and the second defendant without the co-plaintiff and the witness knowing beforehand. It is an illegal pursuit of evidence. The court is prohibited from hearing it according to Section 226 of the Civil Procedure Code, even though the said legal principles are used to exclude evidence from government officials in order to protect the rights and freedoms of the people from government officials. Using the method of seeking evidence illegally, but Section 226 of the Criminal Procedure Code does not prohibit the use of the evidence seeking method of natural persons. However, during the trial there was The Criminal Procedure Code Amendment Act (No. 28) B.E. 2008 came into effect on February 8, 2008, with Section 11 providing for the addition of Section 226/1 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Allow the court to hear evidence obtained illegally. If the evidence will be more beneficial to the administration of justice than the harm caused by its impact on the standards of the criminal justice system. The court then brought the tape recording to listen.
Supreme Court Judgment No. 50/2020
It was a case of an official accepting a bribe. which is serious The audio clip is clear and has probative value. The court heard the audio clip as evidence.
The defendant is an official. It has gone through a lot of litigation. He is very familiar with questioning witnesses in various forms. The facts appear from the transcript of the conversation between the defendant and Por. that Por. tried to ask the defendant to help A. in order not to be prosecuted. which the defendant did not deny Just waiting for the police officer to offer the amount of money and when the police asked questions, the defendant also explained various details about the prosecution process to the police officer in order to convince the police officer that the charge of importing methamphetamine was In the Kingdom there are high penalty rates. It shows that the defendant answered Phor.’s questions voluntarily. Even though the secret recording of images and audio of the conversation between the defendant and P.W. according to CD warrants W.Jor.1 and W.Jor.2 is an illegal pursuit of evidence according to Section 226 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the Criminal Procedure Code. . Section 226/1 provides that the court can hear evidence obtained illegally. If listening to the evidence will be more beneficial to the administration of justice than the harm caused by the impact on the standards of the criminal justice system, then even if the CD warrants W.Jor.1 and W.Jor.2 including the transcript of The conversation tapes were obtained illegally. The court can listen to it as evidence.
In civil cases
In a civil case, there is no cutoff for evidence obtained from an unlawful act according to Section 226/1 like in a criminal case.
Therefore, audio clips or video clips that are secretly recorded can be heard in civil cases.Because people naturally have the right to claim that What did we discuss with Or have you heard anything from anyone yet?
Examples of Supreme Court judgments. For example,
Supreme Court Judgment No. 4674/2000
The defendant’s claim to send an audio tape recording a conversation between the plaintiff and the defendant along with a document that transcribes the conversation as evidence is considered evidence concerning the fact that The defendant will investigate the issue of the use of money even though the plaintiff did not know that there was a recording. But when the voice that appears is actually the plaintiff’s voice And the sound recording was caused by the actions of the defendant, the other interlocutor, who recorded the sound himself. Normally, the defendant would have the right to testify about the conversation at that time. Therefore, the audio tape and the transcribed document are not considered to be recordings of words resulting from an illegal act which must not be admitted as evidence according to the Constitution, Section 243, paragraph two.
Supreme Court judgment no. 3911/2534
The fact that Objector No. 1 brought evidence without taking out the tape and brought the tape to be opened when it was time for Objector No. 1 to testify, did not open it in front of the petitioner. While considering the case on the complainant’s side There is no law that requires the transcript of the message to be extracted or evidence must be taken by showing the tape during the trial of the complainant’s case or the complainant’s witnesses must be cross-examined first. Because the examination of speech is the examination of evidence. What method will allow the court to hear and accept the voice as evidence? Detective leaders like to be able to do it.
Summary
Audio clip or video clip It is a type of evidence that can prove the truth more clearly than personal witnesses. Because it is a true story of what happened. different from personal witnesses that may cause many discrepancies.
Which is an audio clip or video clip which was recorded without notifying the other party in advance. or the other party knew or should have known that there was an audio or video recording. It can be used as evidence in both civil and criminal cases.
But in the case of such audio clips or video clips It is a video clip that was secretly recorded without the other party knowing it. whether secretly recording via mobile phone Secretly install a camera or microphone to eavesdrop. Or secretly record together and secretly eavesdrop on the signal. It is considered evidence obtained illegally.
If it is a criminal case and there is an excision of evidence according to the Criminal Procedure Code, Section 229/1, it is forbidden to listen to audio clips or video clips obtained from actions by Unlawful evidence Unless an exception is made, such evidence can be heard.
Which will be an exception to allow evidence to be heard. The audio clip or video clip must be strong and reliable. It has probative value. And in such a case, it must be a serious and important case. Including other factors as described in detail.
In a civil case there is no precluded evidence in a criminal case. Therefore, audio clips or video clips Caused by secretly recording or secretly filming It can be used as evidence in a civil case. If it is believed to be real and Related to dispute issues
