THAILAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Chusert Supasitthumrong, John Frangos, Alongkorn Tongmee and Eric Meyer, Tilleke & Gibbins
4.7 Application/Motion Timeframe As mentioned in 4.1 Interim Applications/ Motions , interim motions in Thailand will take the form of a petition for a temporary order or an injunction. A Thai court would typically take approximately two weeks to one month to con- sider an application for non-emergency interim relief, but this will depend on the circumstances of the case and on the court’s schedule. If the court deems it necessary for due process pur- poses, it may also schedule a hearing to exam- ine the matter further before issuing a decision. In case of emergency, an emergency motion can also be filed together with a petition for tempo- rary order or injunction. Examples of an emer- gency are when the defendant intends to remove or transfer the property in dispute, or when the defendant intends to repeat or continue the wrongful act or the breach of contract. The court would normally consider the emergency petition on the same date that the emergency petition and the injunction petition are filed. While discovery is available in civil cases, the mechanisms and procedures available to a par- ty seeking discovery are limited in scope when compared to jurisdictions in which extensive discovery practice is common. The available mechanisms include both the production of documents and the taking of witness testimony. A party may present its own documentary evi- dence and witnesses during trial proceedings. It may also request that the court issue a subpoena to the opposing party to produce certain docu- ments or witnesses at trial. If a subpoena for documentary evidence is requested, the scope 5. Discovery 5.1 Discovery and Civil Cases
prescription period, that the complaint is unclear, or that the case should be dismissed based on the existence of an arbitration clause in the con- tract at issue. 4.4 Requirements for Interested Parties to Join a Lawsuit An interested party not named as a plaintiff or defendant could join a lawsuit by filing an inter- pleader application either as a third party when it sees that it is necessary to do so to protect or enforce its own rights related to the matter, or as a co-plaintiff/defendant when it sees that it has a legal interest in the result of a case. By request from the existing parties in the case, interested parties may also be called to join the case as co-defendants. 4.5 Applications for Security for Defendant’s Costs A defendant can apply for an order requiring the plaintiff or claimant to pay a sum of money as security for the defendant’s costs. This is often sought when the plaintiff is a non-resident, with the goal of ensuring that the defendant can recover legal costs if the plaintiff loses the case and fails to pay. The security serves as protec- tion against the potential risk of non-payment by an overseas plaintiff. 4.6 Costs of Interim Applications/ Motions A Thai court will not award costs for filing or responding to an interim motion. Each party will bear its own costs for these. However, the court may order the requesting party to place a monetary guarantee for any damages that might occur as a result from the interim order.
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