Page 70 - ฉบับ "ปรีดี บรรณานุสรณ์ 2561"

Working Part-Time while Studying

Besides returning to higher education in the capital city,
Mr. Pridi also worked as a clerk in the Law Of ice of Phra Wichit
Montri (Mr. Sood Koontoljinda) from 1917 to 1919. Afterward,
Phraya Wichit recruited him as secondary-class clerk at the
Correction Department from 1919 to 1920.

Barrister

Until 1919, Mr. Pridi passed the Bar Exam for Barristers;
however, pertaining to regulation at the time, eligible person for
becoming a barrister must be 20 years old and older. Mr. Pridi hence
had to wait until he reached the required age in 1920, before he
could become an ordinary member of the Bar Association.

The Case of Force Majeure
Meanwhile, Mr. Pridi was contracted as an attorney
for a case in the Appeal Court, where the defendant was Mr. Lim
Soon-nguan, an owner of a pontoon boat, as he was sued by the
government, the plaintif , for the damage of 600 baht. The case was
caused by the defendant’s pontoon ship, which was anchored in
Samut Prakarn provice, that had been blew away from the storm and
had crashed into a government building on the coast line, and hence
damaged the building in the process. The trial court adjudged that
this incident was caused by the defendant’s negligence. Therefore,
the defendant had to pay for the damage. Nevertheless, the Appeal
Court and the Supreme Court adjudged to dismiss the accusation.
During the prosecution, the defendant’s attorney cited the
issue of ‘dangers beyond one’s control’ of the old law as a defense
(which is currently known as ‘force majeure’). The result of this case
(Judgment of the Supreme Court No. 115, B.E. 2463) made Mr. Pridi,
a young lawyer of merely 20 years old, a famous f gure among the
public.

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