FACT FINDING BY POST-MORTEM EXAMINATION : STUDYING THE LEGAL NECESSITY OF A DEATH INVESTIGATION

Abstract

Post-mortem examinations are initiated by officials performing their duty in terms of extrajudicial killings, under Section 150, paragraph three of the Thailand Criminal Procedure Code, B.E. 2477 (1934) (The Code).The law requires a procedure to investigate deaths that differs in cases of unnatural death. The Code evolved through amendments. Its statutes regarding post-mortem examinations were studied and problems of extrajudicial killings analyzed as part of the process of examining deaths in Thailand. An international comparative legal study was made of post-mortem examinations in Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Results were that in Thailand,

Investigations into deaths retain some problems.These findings suggest that making evidence collection the responsibility of the Crime Suppression Division would prevent case interference and interruption of the process of investigating deaths. By following the example of German regulations, in Thailand, principles of checks and balances would be maintained between internal and external organizations by applying counterbalance and oversight in autopsies and issuing autopsy reports accordingly.