Civics: Law in Daily Life

Law in Daily Life

• Rules, regulations, and restrictions are necessary for a peaceful society and become laws.
• This unit covers laws related to oneself, family, community, country, and the legislative process.

Meaning and Importance of Law

• Laws are state regulations that control citizen behavior, enforced by the state.
• Laws are important to create order in society and the nation.
• Laws accelerate administration and development.
• Laws are a guiding principle for life and creating social order.

Legislative Process

• All citizens with the right to vote can propose a law.
• Proposed bills at the national level must be in the form of a proposed act and align with the Constitution.
• At the local level, a petition from at least half of eligible voters can be submitted to the local council president to issue local legislation.

Civil Law and Minors

• A minor is someone under legal age, considered immature physically, intellectually, and experientially.
• Law restricts a minor's capacity to enter legally binding agreements.
• Action by a minor needs to be agreed to by a legal representative.
• Legal representatives are parents or guardians who act on behalf of a minor or approve their juristic acts.
• Minors can perform juristic acts without approval if it solely benefits them without loss or to do with their own business or preferences.
• They can also conduct acts appropriate which are necessary to their status or makes a will at 15 years old.
• A will expresses a person's wishes for asset distribution after death.

Thai National Identity Card

• The national identity card proves a person's identification, domicile, and status.
• The criteria for having an identity card include being a Thai national, being between 7-70 years old, and having house registration with their name.
• Application for an identity card can be made within 60 days of turning 7, obtaining Thai nationality, or completing house registration.
• Identity cards are valid for 8 years and can be renewed 60 days before or after expiration.
• Request for replacement must be done 60 days after the loss, damage, or change of owner's information.
• National identity cards are useful for contacting government agencies, opening bank accounts, voting, receiving money, and when applying for a job.

Civil Law and Family

• Engagement requires a promise between a man and a woman to marry.
• If broken, the injured party can recover compensation, but can't force the marriage.
• Engagement requires both parties to be at least 17 years old with legal representative consent.
• Engagement gifts become the woman's property.
• If either party breaks the promise, the other can recover compensation for damage to body, reputation, or covering costs of marriage plan.

Engagement Termination Cases

• If the woman is unsuitable, the man can terminate the engagement, and the woman must return the gift.
• If the man is unsuitable, the woman can terminate the engagement without returning the gift.
• If either party dies before marriage, claims for compensation are void, and there's no obligation to return the gift or bride price.
• Engagement can be terminated with consent from both sides and without witness signatures.

Marriage

• Marriage is the willingness of a man and woman to live as husband and wife, without relations with others, and legally registered.
• Marriage conditions include that those involved must be at least 17 years of age with legal representative consent if underage.
• People of unsound mind or incompetent people cannot marry.
• People cannot marry within their direct family or be siblings.
• Adopters and the adopted cannot be married.
• People cannot be married if they already have a spouse.

Heritage or Estate

• This refers to all assets and properties of a dead person, including rights and duties, and responsibilities, excluding those unique to the person.
• With a will, the heritage goes to the person specified; without one, it goes to the heirs and spouse.
• Statutory heirs are relatives or spouses with legal rights with inheritance rights that decrease with the degree of distance of the relationship.
• Living spouse is always considered a statutory heir.
• Marriage property is divided in half for the spouse with the remaining half for the heirs.
• The spouse can inherit as much as the first generation of heirs.
• If first-order heirs are alive, second-order heirs won't have rights to the estate.

Heirs and Adoption

• A will dictates how to distribute property or set conditions.
• A will can appoint guardians, cover funeral plans, and manage debts.
• A child born outside of marriage is the woman's legal child but illegitimate to the man unless he acknowledges the child.
• If parents marry after an extramarital birth, acknowledgment isn't needed.
• Criteria for adopting a child: adopter must be over 25 and 15 years older than the adoptee.
• If the adoptee is over 15, they must consent.
• If a minor is adopted, their legal representative's consent is needed.
• Adoptions are complete when legally registered.
• Adopters or adoptees need spousal consent.
• Adopted children have the same rights as the adopter's children and adoption also doesn't remove the childs rights in their birth family.
• Adopters do not share inheritance with the adopted as a spouse.
• Multiple people cannot adopt one person unless they're married.

Laws Relating to the Community and Nation

• These laws concern public order and national security.

Taxation Law

• This is the money the government takes from people for national and local expenses.
• It's a citizen's duty to offer income or property for public benefits.
• Personal income tax stands as an important tax for people.
• Personal income tax applies to those whose income meets certain criteria, with specific characteristics.
• Tax rates are calculated from personal income earned annually, termed "assessable income."
• Assessable income refers to property, money, or benefits that can be calculated as money, gained between January 1 and December 31.

Calculating Personal Income Tax

• First net income, deduct expenses, and write-offs from assessable income.
• Taxpayers can deduct 50% of assessable income for personal expenses, up to 100,000 baht.

Write-Offs (Tax-Deductible)

• Income earners, spouses, and children: 60,000 baht can be deducted for the earner and non-earning spouse.
• If the spouse earns, the deduction is capped at 120,000 baht, with 30,000 baht deductible per child.
• Insurance premium: deduct what's paid, up to 100,000 baht (100K), for over 10yr insurance policies.
• Provident fund: deduct what's paid, up to 10,000 baht (10K). Lending rate for purchase, lease, or construction of residence: deduct what's paid, up to 100,000 baht.
• Donation: deduct donations up to 10% of income after all expenses.
• Income tax must be filed by March 31 after the income year.

Penalties for Late Tax Filing

• If no warning is issued, pay an extra 1.5% per month.
• With Revenue Department approval for time extension, pay an extra 0.75% per month.
• If an investigation officer issues a warrant, and the tax form hasn't been filed or paid, beyond the payment, a fine will be charged of 1-2 times.
• The government spends tax money on transportation, utilities, health, education, and security and other services.
• Obeying taxation laws benefits individuals, society, and the country.

Public Services

• Transportation improves roads and facilitates travel.
• Public utilities make services more convenient.
• Public health develops medical personnel, technology etc.
• While education buys educational aids, material, and technology.
• National security buys police gear as well weapons to maintain safety and security of the country.

Tax Evasion Consequences

• Tax evasion decreases government income, postponing the country's development and impacting citizen progress.

Labor Law

• Labor law establishes employer-employee relationships regarding employment, work performance, and dispute resolution to ensure efficient work operations.
• Employers must treat employees according to the Civil and Commercial Code and treat both male and female employees equally, except if there are unique conditions.
• Announcement of normal working hours must be done by employers to employees, which shall not exceed a duration of 8 hours.
• Overtime and day-off work requires prior consent from employees.
• Break times must be at least 1 hour during one working day.
• An Employee can take sick leave that correlates with the same amount of days sick, but after 3 days a medical certificate must be presented.
• Labor of children under 15 is strictly prohibited.
• Children under 18 are prohibited to work in dance clubs or entertaiment places.
• Child workers under 18 areallowed to take days off for training or seminars from educational institutes or government agencies and their employer needs to notify an officer after 15 days since working.
• Employers aren't allowed to employ female workers in prohibited roles, like mines or explosive production.
• Pregnant employees cannot work between 22:00-06:00, and they have a right to maternity leave for a max of 90 days.
• Sexual harassment is prohibited in the workplace.

Administrative Law

• It manages public affairs.
• This governs administrative organizations and interactions between administration and the people.
• Thailand divides state affairs into central administration, regional, and local administration.
• Central Administration formulates policies and manages state affairs nationwide.
• The Prime Minister heads the government, the Minister implements policies, and the Director-General oversees the department operations.
• Regional Administration represents decentralization via officials stationed regionally and it's split up in provinces with governors and districts, oversaw by Chief District Officers.

Organization of Local Administration

• It is decentralizing power to give citizens a role unlike regional and unlike central administration, officers are elected by the people.
• Provincial Administrative Organizations manage provincial matters with a Chief Executive supervising.
• The municipality is also overseen by the chief executive.
• Bangkok and Pattaya are special local administrations with elected council members and a chairman.
• Government officers and citizens must follow all laws at all levels.

National Reserved Forests Act (1964) or NRFA

• It conserves forest resources and prevents destruction.

Land Utilization within National Reserved Forests

• No one can possess land, construct, destroy forests, log, collect forest products, or harm the forest, except in certain cases.
• The government can permit use for 5-30 years, or no longer than 10 years for mineral mines. People may harvest after recieving a goverment permit. If there's a deteriorated forest, the Minister may notify such area to be a "natural condition improved area."
• Improved natural spaces can only be used by locals if there is a need to improve the condition of such area
• For people living in such area, government may permit continuous utilization for 5 - 30 years after request.
• To study the forest, the government may grant permission for a person to study area.

Wildlife Preservation and Protection Act (1992) or WPPA

• It forbids hunting, shooting, endangering, owning, or selling protected wild animals unless for survey, study, research, academic experiment, protection, treatment, prevention, cure, and breeding with permits.
• Nobody can hunt wild animals w/o one for education/research.
• No one is permitted to enter sanctuaries, possess land, or collect animals without written permission.
• Enhancement and Conservation of National Environment (1992) or ECNE is an act to protect and correct standards with the result that humans will have a clean standard of living.
• Act creates National Environment Board submits policy and plan, and prescribes laws and quality standards for national environmental quality, as well as, The Environmental Fund to invest and oporate central waste disposal facilities.

Conclusion

• Democratic citizens should know their roles, rights, and duties as good citizen.
• Law lays guidelines for living together.
• It's necessary to study laws, apply knowledge to daily routines to help people live peacefully together.