Appealing to court action is an appropriate approach for solving controversies in the public and business domains. With the growth of joint public and private investments, new companies and private real estate acquisitions, Thailand has also witnessed a foreseeable rise of the litigation cases. Just like in other countries, Thailand has encouraged the utilization of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in order to settle controversies. Arbitration in Thailand is a form of ADR used by the judiciary to ease the agglomeration of court dockets.
Arbitral institutions in Thailand
Numerous arbitrations in Thailand are undertaken under the regulation of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). There are also two principal national arbitral institutions in Thailand:
• The Thai Arbitration Institute of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Office, Office of the Judiciary;
• The Commercial Arbitration Institute of the Board of Commerce in Thailand.
Both these institutes are highly reputed, being controlled by a diverse advisory board, have standard arbitration rules and keep a list of skilled and vacant arbitrators. Parties can name outside professionals as arbitrators, and commonly choose to bear the proceedings in Thai or English. The Thai Arbitration Institute carries out much more cases than the Board of Commercial Arbitration Institute, mainly because the fact that the Office of the Judiciary manages it. Our lawyers in Thailand can provide more details on this subject.
Arbitration legislation in Thailand
The arbitration law in Thailand is represented by the Arbitration Act B.E. 2545 (2002) (the Arbitration Act), which is issued following the model of the UNCITRAL law (a model law on International Commercial Arbitration issued by UNCITRAL – the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law). There are however certain distinctive differences which are exclusive to Thailand. For example, although the UNCITRAL law enables arbitrators to undertake interim measures in connection to the subject of the dispute pending the result of the arbitration, the Arbitration Act necessitates a party looking for a temporary order to submit a petition with the Thai court. Our team of lawyers in Thailand can offer you more information on this matter.
Foreign legal advisers are able to take part in the proceedings as arbitrators. They can also play the role of legal advisers in arbitration proceedings which take place in Thailand if:
• The governing legislation is not Thai; or
• It is not necessary to apply for enforcement in Thailand.
Please contactour lawyers in Thailand for more details on arbitration matters in this country.