THAILAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Phatsawat Siwawej, Piyachon Jiraratmethakorn and Ketsirin Wisetwatcharawong, Weerawong C&P
at present, Thailand does not have any specific leg - islation that expressly recognises or regulates class arbitration. 13.2 Ethical Codes Please refer to 4.1 Limits on Selection . 13.3 Third-Party Funding In Thailand, there are no specific laws or regulations that explicitly prohibit third-party funding in arbitration cases. However, Thai courts have historically had a negative view of third-party funding – positing that a party who has no direct interest in a matter, yet still seeks to claim any proceeds, is acting immorally and contravening public policy. 13.4 Consolidation Under the Thai Arbitration Law, the power of arbitral tribunals or courts to consolidate separate arbitral proceedings is not explicitly specified. However, it is worth noting that Article 13 of the TAI Rules 2017 grants the TAI the authority to consolidate proceed - ings – even if the arbitration agreements are not identi - cal – based on the criteria of convenience. The TAI Rules 2017 provide the TAI with broad discre - tion in determining whether to consolidate separate arbitral proceedings. This discretion appears to be wider than the powers granted to some other arbitral institutions in relation to consolidation. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen how the discretion will be exer - cised by the TAI.
In addition, it is important to consider the potential challenges that may arise when consolidating pro - ceedings where the arbitration agreements are not identical. There is a risk that a decision to consoli - date – and any subsequent award resulting from the consolidated proceedings – could be subject to a challenge in court, either in Thailand or in other juris - dictions during the enforcement process. 13.5 Binding of Third Parties Thai courts recognise and uphold the principle of privity of contract. Accordingly, third parties cannot be bound by an arbitration agreement or an arbitral award. That said, the position may differ in relation to interim measures. Under the Thai Arbitration Act, the provi - sions of the CPC governing interim measures apply mutatis mutandis to arbitration proceedings. As appli - cations for interim measures must be made to the Thai courts, the court exercises its powers under the CPC when granting such relief. In certain circumstances, the CPC permits interim orders to be directed against or have legal effect on third parties. For example, a court may order a registrar, who is not a party to the proceedings, to suspend or refrain from registering a transaction. Accordingly, there is a pos - sibility that a court-ordered interim measure issued in support of arbitration may have legal effect on, or be enforceable against, certain third parties where per - mitted under the general proceedings under the CPC.
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