Dispute Resolution
Thailand encourages mediation of certain disputes as an alternative to litigation
Introduction: Many have commented on the delays and inefficiency that are encountered in civil litigation in Thailand. There are numerous changes that could be made to the Civil Procedure Code to make it more fit for the purpose of deciding …
Why more foreign investors in Thailand are including international arbitration clauses in their contracts which include Bangkok as the venue to settle disputes
In 2020 foreign investors into Thailand will increasingly choose Bangkok as a venue to settle disputes, rather than going to settle their disputes at arbitration in Singapore or other cities in South-East Asia (such as Singapore), which are more costly …
Finality of Awards: Investor-State Disputes. ICSID?
One of the key virtues of any dispute resolution mechanism is finality. Will the dispute resolution mechanism lead to a final result in a relatively short amount of time and avoid endless and expensive reviews, appeals and challenges? If a …
Electronic Filing of Thai Court Documents
By Auttasak Sulaiman and Sudthapa Thanathanya Filing court documents in Thailand has, until recently, required an in-person trip to the applicable court, which can be both time consuming and expensive for ongoing litigation involving multiple hearings. While the Civil Procedure …
New Court Established To Assist In Thailand’s Fight Against Corruption
The Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Offences represents Thailand’s latest effort in its battle against corruption. The new court, established under the recently enacted Act on the Establishment of Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Offence B.E. 2559 (2016), …
Permission Now Required For Supreme Court Appeals
Unlike the Supreme Court in the U.S., Thailand’s Supreme Court has provided a right of appeal for most cases heard by the Thailand’s lower courts. In particular, any factual issue heard by the Court of Appeals would be entitled to …
What a Difference Discovery Makes
Discovery under the U.S. federal and state law is broad, providing plaintiffs with a variety of tools to assemble evidence for their cases, such as depositions, requests for production of documents, subpoenas, and interrogatories (written questions) and requests for admissions. …
Are There Limits To The Creeping Extraterritorial Application Of U.S. Law?
In May 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), in connection with investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, indicted fourteen people in connection with wire fraud, racketeering and money laundering as …
Thai Courts Open To Class Action Litigation
Thailand’s National Legislative Assembly has enacted legislation amending the Civil Procedure Code to permit class action litigation that will take effect 240 days after publication in the Government Gazette. Generally speaking, a class action is a type of collective litigation …
General Principles of Law, Custom and Analogy in Thai Law
Thai law is based on specific acts enacted by the Thai Parliament and, of particular relevance, the Thai Civil and Commercial Code (TCCC), which is the main body of Thai law pertaining to civil and commercial matters. Book I of …
Constitutional Court Rules on Presumption of Director/Manager Guilt
The penalty provisions in some Thai laws include a presumption that directors and managers of an entity found to be in violation of such laws were involved in the violation and should thus be held personally liable. The burden of …
Thai Labour Unions
Thai law allows employees to form unions and sets out the requirements for forming a union. At least ten employees at a “business location” can elect to form a union and obtain approval from the Ministry of Labour to form …
Litigation & Arbitration in Thailand
Courts Unless subject to arbitration, most private disputes in Thailand are adjudicated in the Courts of Justice (Thailand also has a Constitutional Court, Administrative Court and a Military Court). Courts of Justice have three levels: the Courts of First Instance; …
Arbitration and Thai Government Agencies
Thailand has traditionally been an arbitration friendly state, embracing and promoting arbitration as a method of resolving commercial disputes. In fact, Thailand was among the first countries to adhere to the 1958 Convention on the Enforcement and Recognition of Foreign …
Legal Update: Increased Enforcement of the FCPA
The last several years have seen a dramatic increase in enforcement of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA"), which, as most AMCHAM members will know, is a broad law that criminalizes corrupt payments to foreign officials. In the prior …
Summary Trade Competition
Thailand has had a quasi-competition law since 1979, known as the Price Control and Anti-Monopoly Act. At its inception, the law's objective was to protect consumers from inflationary pressures and from widespread collusive practices among businesses that had led to …
Thailand’s Product Liability Law and Consumer Case Procedures Act
Although the size and incidence of awards from defective goods claims have traditionally been relatively low in Thailand, this may be about to change. On 21 February 2009, the Unsafe Product Liability Act, B.E. 2551 (the Product Liability Act) came …
Enforcement of Mortgages
There are two basic methods of enforcing a mortgage under Thai law. The first and far more common method of enforcement is to obtain a court judgment ordering the mortgaged property to be seized and sold at a public auction. …