Key Legal Aspects and the Public Order Doctrine for High Building and Edifice : A Comparative Study of France and Thailand

Abstract

          The legal terms “high building,” “edifice,” “public land” or “public assembly building,” and “enterainment hall” are established to define and legally characterize these structures, distinguishing them from building. Consequently, applications for the construction and modification of such buildings are subject to stricter laws and regulations than those for general building, particularly concerning public safety and disaster prevention measures, especially against fire hazards. The related laws and regulations are stringent and specific to these types of buildings to ensure safety from fire risks, which can cause panic among residents in such buildings and residents in adjacent areas, and to establish effective evacuation measures for fire fatalities.

          This article presents relevant laws and key legal observations, with a particular focus on the principle of public order pertaining high building, edifice, and public land in the French Republic, as well as assembly buildings and theaters under Thai law. The presentation is divided into two parts :

          Part One discusses essential aspects of the laws concerning urban planning and the control of high building and public land in the French Republic, with comparative notes on Thai law.

          Part Two examines the principle of public order as it appears in the legislation governing the control of high building and public land. This involves an analysis of the meaning and characteristics of the concept of public order in general, before moinvg on to a more a specific study of public order in relation to public safety within building control laws. This latter part provides as a study of the lessons and experiences from the improvement and enforcement of building control laws in the French Republic, for the benefit of the development and enforcement of building control laws in Thailand. This part also includes an examination of judicial precedents and legal opinions from the Thai Council of State regarding the principle of public safety under building control laws.