THAILAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Chusert Supasitthumrong, John Frangos, Alongkorn Tongmee and Eric Meyer, Tilleke & Gibbins
7. Trials and Hearings 7.1 Trial Proceedings
to include assets located outside of Thailand in a freezing order. Additionally, there are no treaties or internation - al agreements to which Thailand is a party that would allow for enforcement against a respond- ent’s assets outside of Thailand. A judgment creditor would need to request or file a lawsuit in the court of the country in which the assets are located in order to obtain injunctive relief from that court, if available. 6.6 Third Parties and Injunctive Relief A request for injunctive relief can also affect third parties. This applies in cases where there is an order for the seizure of assets directed at a third party who has an obligation to deliver or transfer assets to the respondent to refrain from doing so and instead to deliver or transfer the assets to an enforcement officer. However, the assets seized must belong to the respondent. If the court orders the seizure of assets owned by a third party, the rightful owner of the assets can file a request for the release of those assets. 6.7 Consequences of a Respondent’s Non-compliance If a request for injunctive relief is granted, and the applicant has requested that the court issue an order prohibiting the respondent from repeating or continuing a certain action, once the court’s order is in effect, it directly binds the respond- ent. If the respondent fails to comply with or vio- lates the order, the applicant can request that the court issue a warrant for the respondent’s arrest and detention.
In Thailand, a trial or witness hearing is con- ducted in the Court of First Instance. The trial proceeding includes direct examination of wit- nesses (including experts) by the party present- ing the case, followed by cross-examination by the opposing party, and redirect examination by the presenting party. Parties may be allowed to present written witness statements ahead of trial which will serve as the basis for direct examina- tion testimony (and which may be supplemented orally during the testimony of that witness), but the cross-examination and redirect examination of a witness will be done orally during trial. Par- ties may also make oral arguments in support of or in opposition to certain petitions submitted to the court during trial proceedings. The par- ties may also present a closing statement, either orally or in writing, but this will typically be done in writing. At the Appellate Court and Supreme Court lev- els, there are no witness examinations. These courts consider written submissions by the par- ties. 7.2 Case Management Hearings For managing civil cases, the courts normally schedule the first hearing to discuss and man- age administrative matters with the parties. The administrative matters include identifying the issues in dispute based on the written submis- sions by the parties, discussing the number of witnesses to be presented, and scheduling trial or witness hearing dates. In Thailand, before more complex trials or wit- ness hearings are conducted, a party can file an interim petition and an emergency petition requesting that the court hear those petitions on
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