No, brother and sister cannot marry in Thailand according to Thai law.
Legal Basis in Thailand
Thai law explicitly prohibits marriage between close blood relatives. This prohibition is outlined in relevant sections of the Civil and Commercial Code.
According to Section 1450 of the Thai Civil and Commercial Code, a marriage cannot take place under specific conditions. One such condition directly addresses relationships between siblings:
A marriage connot take place if the man and woman are blood relations in the direct ascendant or descendant line, or brother or sister of full or half blood.
This means that any marriage attempted between individuals who are siblings, whether they share both parents (full blood) or only one parent (half blood), is legally invalid in Thailand.
Understanding Prohibited Marriages
Based on the provided reference (Section 1450), the following relationships are legally prohibited from marrying in Thailand:
- Blood relations in the direct ascendant line: This includes relationships like parent and child, grandparent and grandchild, great-grandparent and great-grandchild, etc.
- Blood relations in the direct descendant line: This covers the same relationships as above, just phrased from the other direction (child and parent, grandchild and grandparent, etc.).
- Brother or sister of full blood: Siblings who share both parents.
- Brother or sister of half blood: Siblings who share only one parent (either the mother or the father).
This legal restriction is in place for societal, moral, and biological reasons commonly found in legal systems worldwide.
In summary, Thai law, as stipulated in Section 1450, unequivocally prohibits marriage between siblings of full or half blood.