THAILAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Chusert Supasitthumrong, John Frangos, Alongkorn Tongmee and Eric Meyer, Tilleke & Gibbins
Third-Party Litigation Funding , this type of fee arrangement would be one deemed to encour- age a lawyer to seek benefits from the dispute in which his or her client is involved. Accordingly, similar to an agreement regarding third-party funding, a contingency fee agreement would be considered void under Thai law. 2.7 Time Limit for Obtaining Third-Party Funding As noted in 2.1 Third-Party Litigation Funding , litigation funding by a third-party funder is gener- ally not permitted in Thailand. Thai law does not impose any requirements on the parties regarding pre-action conduct. As a practical matter, a potential plaintiff may send a pre-action demand letter to a potential defend- ant. However, there is no requirement for the potential defendant to respond to such a letter. 3.2 Statutes of Limitations In Thailand, statutes of limitations (called “pre- scription periods” in Thai law) are governed by the Thai Civil and Commercial Code. The general limitation period for most civil suits is ten years from the date the right to sue arises, such as the date the opposing party breaches a contract. However, Thai law also provides specific pre- scription periods for certain types of claims. If there is no specific law on the specific limitation period of that case, the general ten-year pre- scription period will apply to the case. Examples of specific prescription periods for certain types of claims are as follows. 3. Initiating a Lawsuit 3.1 Rules on Pre-action Conduct
• Tort/Wrongful Act – one year from the date the injured party becomes aware of the injury and the identity of the responsible party. • Debt acknowledgment or acceptance let- ter – two years from the date of such letter or the debt guarantee, if a party or both parties make(s) a letter of debt acknowledgment. • Cases for claiming interest in arrears; rental of property in arrears; reclaiming repayments in instalments; and reclaiming outstanding payments such as salary – five years from the date the right of claim was contested; ie, the date on which the breach occurs. 3.3 Jurisdictional Requirements for a Defendant A civil lawsuit can be filed in Thailand if: • either of the parties is domiciled (including having a place of business) in Thailand; • the cause of action accrued in Thailand; • the plaintiff has Thai nationality; or • the defendant has property in Thailand, whether the property is located temporarily or permanently in Thailand. General courts vs specialised courts – while the basic principles of jurisdiction mentioned above generally apply to all courts that have jurisdiction over a matter, certain specialised courts have jurisdiction over specific types of cases, which means they operate under different rules regard- ing what cases they can hear. The specialised courts in Thailand are as follows: • Bankruptcy Court; • Intellectual Property & International Trade Court; • Juvenile and Family Courts; • Labour Courts; and • Administrative Courts.
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