Parental Authority De Facto : A study of Thai and English Law

Abstract

In general, parental authority only legislates by law and is known as the “legal parental authority”. However, the so-called “parental authority de facto” is exercised in fact over minors, but it is not recognized by Thai law. While parental authority is a power that cannot be relinquished or transferred and will only cease by law, it cannot be withdrawn even if parents agree to delegate or transfer their parental authority to other persons and even if they have misbehaved but not to the extent to get their parental authority withdrawn. When considering English law, we will find the rules whereby persons exercising parental authority de facto are also authorized by law to have parental authority and legal responsibilities over minors. Therefore, if the principle of parental authority de facto is accepted by Thai law in order to authorize persons other than parents to share the parental authority or use it under any other conditions, without having to withdraw it from the parents, the scope of the parental authority will be complemented the protection and the best interest of the child.