THAILAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Nathee Silacharoen, Tawatchai Boonmayapan and Norrapat Werajong, Chandler Mori Hamada
lute receivership order is published, unless an event of force majeure has occurred and/or is ongoing. Secured creditors are also entitled to file an appli - cation for debt repayment if they agree to waive the security for the benefit of all creditors. Non-resident creditors (foreign creditors) may be granted an additional two-month extension. However, they must demonstrate that Thai creditors would gen - erally have reciprocal rights to participate in similar proceedings in their respective countries, and they must agree to relinquish any of the debtor’s property outside Thailand for the benefit of all creditors. A creditor cannot file an application for debt repay - ment if such creditor knew that the debtor was insol - vent at the time the debt was incurred, unless the debt was incurred in order to enable the debtor’s business to continue operating. Attending Court Hearings Creditors and other parties in interest may attend court hearings and oppose the petition for bankruptcy proceedings. They may also request that the court dismiss the petition if the debtor is disqualified under the Bankruptcy Act or if the petition was filed in “bad faith”. Claim Inspection Creditors are entitled to inspect the debt repayment applications submitted by other creditors in order to challenge the legitimacy of such claims, ensuring the fair distribution of the asset pool. Security Enforcement Secured creditors are entitled to enforce their security without having to file a claim for debt repayment. It is important to note that an official receiver is entitled to inspect the secured assets; if the official receiver is of the view that the value of such secured assets exceeds the secured debts, the official receiver is entitled to seize and sell the secured assets through a public auction. The proceeds will be used to settle the debts, with any remaining funds returned to the asset pool of the debtor.
However, for secured creditors to be eligible to vote in the creditors’ meeting under bankruptcy proceed - ings, a secured creditor is required to file a claim for debt repayment. Blocking Bankruptcy Proceedings Creditors cannot block or disrupt the bankruptcy proceedings. Bankruptcy proceedings can only be dismissed by a court judgment or by a withdrawal petition filed by the creditor who submitted the peti - tion for bankruptcy proceedings, and when the court approves such withdrawal petition. 6. Cross-Border Issues in Insolvency 6.1 Sources of International Insolvency Law The Bankruptcy Act and the Act on the Establishment of the Bankruptcy Court and the Procedures for Bank - ruptcy Cases BE 2542 (1999) are the key pieces of legislation governing court jurisdiction and procedural rules for insolvency proceedings in Thailand. These Thai laws are influenced by the United Kingdom Insol - vency Law as well as by Chapter 11 of the United States Code, which serve as the model for Thailand’s legal framework for business rehabilitation. Thailand has taken a neutral stance on adopting the UNCITRAL Model Law on Enterprise Group Insolven - cy, the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insol - vency or the UNCITRAL Model Law on the Recognition and Enforcement of Insolvency-Related Judgments. The Thai government, through the Ministry of Justice’s Legal Execution Department, is currently studying the potential impact of implementing the relevant princi - ples in the Model Law on local bankruptcy and reha - bilitation laws. However, their adoption or enactment is not expected in the near future. 6.2 Jurisdiction In principle, bankruptcy proceedings are only avail - able for Thai debtors; however, under certain circum - stances, a foreign debtor may also be subject to bank - ruptcy proceedings under the Thai Bankruptcy Court, provided that: • the foreign debtor is domiciled in Thailand or oper - ates a business there, either directly or through a
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