The Use of Unmanned Aircraft Vehicles (Drones) to Search Private Premises and the Act of Trespass according to the Thai Criminal Code
Keywords:
Unmanned Aircraft Vehicles (Drones), the Offence of TrespassAbstract
Although the use of unmanned aircraft vehicles (drones) to search private premises, based on the traditional interpretation of the act of trespass (meaning without permission of the owners or occupants and without legal exceptions), leads to breaching property and privacy rights, it cannot be deemed that police officials controlling such aircrafts commit trespass according to Thai Criminal Code. Thus, to protect property and privacy rights and to ensure that the legislation reflects current social attitudes, it is recommended that, in the Thai Criminal Code, it should be written that if unmanned aircraft vehicles are used to search private premises with no authority, the police officials controlling such vehicles are said to have committed the offence of trespass unless otherwise permitted by law. To be specific, the second and the third paragraphs should be added to the Thai Criminal Code section 364 as follows.
“Any person, without any reasonable excuse, operating unmanned aircraft vehicles to enter the places in the first paragraph shall be liable to ...
The acts under the first and the second paragraphs shall also include searching the places in such paragraphs without legal exceptions and without permission of the owners or occupants.”
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