Thailand Introduces Class Action Legal Proceedings

In a significant shift in Thailand’s judicial landscape, the National Legislative Assembly has approved a bill that revises the Civil Procedure Code to introduce class action lawsuits. Until now, this form of legal action was absent in Thai courts. While the new Thai class action framework bears some resemblance to those in jurisdictions like the United States, it also has distinct differences in its essence and implementation.

This bill has secured royal approval and is set to come into effect in December 2015, following its publication in the Royal Gazette on April 8, 2015. The key features of the revised provisions include:

• The allowance for cases that involve a collective of individuals with shared interests and rights in areas such as torts, contract breaches, environmental issues, consumer protection, labor concerns, securities, stock exchanges, and trade competition. Such cases can now be proposed as class actions by a representative plaintiff from the class, accompanying the complaint.

• The Court possesses the authority to approve, define, examine, and conclude a class action.

• Members of a class have the option to exclude themselves from the class action and initiate separate claims.

• The final judgment applies to all involved parties and group members. The leading plaintiff (or their attorney) is responsible for ensuring the judgment's execution on behalf of the entire group.

• The defendant could be responsible for covering plaintiffs' attorney fees, which cannot exceed 30% of the judgment's value. This contrasts with past practices where Thai courts usually assigned minimal lawyers' fees.

The introduction of class action legal proceedings aims to enhance judicial efficiency by consolidating numerous individual claims into a single lawsuit, ensuring that the outcomes affect all class members. Moreover, it creates an avenue to bundle minor claims, which might not have been financially viable to pursue individually before.