The Thai Civil and Commercial Code expressly prohibits the creation of trusts except when provided for by specific legislation. To date, there is only one such piece of legislation: the Trust for Transactions in the Capital Market Act of 2007. However, the history of trusts in Thailand dates back to the late 19th century, and whilst the separation of legal and equitable titles does not sit well with the Code’s legal or intellectual framework, it is possible to provide a coherent explanation of its historical development through the lens of legal pragmatism.This chapter investigates the journey of trust law in Thailand, which runs in parallel with the country’s expansion of international trade and its industrial modernisation. It traces the historical judicial treatment of English common law trusts and the more modern regulatory attempt to integrate statutory trusts into the Thai legal system. Whilst both avenues demonstrate a highly adaptive and pragmatic approach to this imported equitable creature, they appeal to different legal and public policy considerations. With the Draft Bill on Trusts for the Purpose of Personal Asset Management having received cabinet approval in 2018, Thailand now stands at an important juncture for the development of its future trust law regime.

In 1855 Siam signed the Bowring Treaty with Britain, the first of 15 unequal trade treaties with nations around the world. The treaties introduced to Siam extraterritoriality, or consular jurisdiction over foreign subjects in exclusion of Thai authorities’ jurisdiction, using specially established consular or international courts staffed by foreign judges. As well documented and discussed elsewhere, this extraterritoriality led to the pressure for the country to modernise its legal system and introduce legal codes modelled on codes in civil law countries such as France, Germany and Japan. Much less examined is the quiet and latent influence of common law during this important juncture of the country’s legal history. This chapter looks at some of the leading British lawyers in Siam who, following the abolition of the international court, sat in the Supreme Court of Siam, or Dika Court, as members of the ‘Committee of the Supreme Court’, an equivalence of modern day judges. The chapter examines their legal backgrounds, their legal careers in Siam, and their role as Supreme Court judges. As the chapter traces through their work, our inquiry reveals a fascinating dynamic of common law legal reasoning and principles in a civil law, code-based jurisdiction. This investigation into the role of these British judges during the formative years of Siam’s newly established legal system, often understated and unexplored in academic literature, is crucial for a more complete understanding of the country’s process of modernisation.