A leading child-rights activist plans to petition His Majesty the King to abolish an amendment to the Criminal Code that will allow courts to pardon people of any age who sexually abuse children between 13 and 15 if they agree to marry their victim.

Sapphasit Khumpraphan, director of the Centre for the Protection of Children's Rights Foundation, said a National Legislative Assembly (NLA) subcommittee had initially proposed that such pardons be allowed only for offenders up to the age 18 - the legal standard used in the US to decide whether offenders should be tried for statutory rape or paedophilia.

However, paragraph four of Article 277 of the amended Criminal Code stipulates that people of any age who sexually violate children older than 13 and younger than 15 will not be subject to criminal liability if they agree to marry the children under a court order.

He said the age difference between the victim and the offender was a crucial factor in whether their subsequent court-ordered marriage would be happy or could last.

"A child's future should not be decided in legal squabbles. The order could be based on inaccurate information supplied to judges," he said.

Sapphasit criticised the NLA for neglecting to properly consider its subcommittee's proposal to set a limit on the offender's age.

He said the assembly simply jumped to the conclusion that this should be decided by the court and passed the entire article in the first reading.

The condition regarding the age of violators was proposed by law professor Bowornsak Uwanno and child activist Wallop Tangkhananurak.