Class Action Lawsuits Coming to Thailand

Class action lawsuits have always been a particularly American way of doing things. Like baseball and cheese in a can, they were invented here, made it big – and now they’re going global. In June 2013, we wrote about France adopting U.S.-style collective actions. Then came South Korea. Now, Thailand’s joining the party, with the country’s National Legislative Assembly passing a bill this month to amend the Civil Protection Code and allow class action proceedings.

The newly amended legal code sets out certain requirements that must be met for class action lawsuits to proceed. Firstly, only cases filed by a group of plaintiffs with the same interests and rights in a tort, breach of contract, environmental, consumer protection, labor, securities, or trade compensation suit will be able to petition, with one plaintiff acting as the class member. Thai courts will retain the right to define the class membership and approve or terminate a class action. Individuals covered by a class action claim will, as in the United States, be able to opt-out of representation and pursue an individual claim, but unlike American suits, attorneys’ fees are to be capped at 30% of the judgment. With lawyers fees in Thailand historically lower than those in the United States, a 30% fee remains a solid incentive for attorneys to pursue collective claims. This is a deliberate move, of course, with increased judicial efficiency one of the reasons for introducing class action lawsuits to begin with. Aggregated claims will now be heard as a single case, freeing up courts to deal with other matters. As with class actions in other countries, Thailand’s new system will also make it potentially worthwhile to bring small claims to court that would have been too expensive to litigate without joining them with others.

The ASEAN Law Association, a non-governmental organization for lawyers in Southeast Asian nations, has already released a guide to Thailand’s class action laws, explaining, among other things, what qualifies a plaintiff in a class action and the role attorneys will play in proceedings. It also details publication and notices to class members – something that’s becoming increasing important with the rise of social media and Internet access around the world. As the ASEAN primer explains:

“The process of making a publication and sending notices to class members is considered to be a very important aspect of any class action. Such publication or notice must contain details of the case, including the competent court and case number, the names and addresses of the parties and plaintiff attorney, a summary of the complaint, a clear description of the class, the entitlements of the class, the deadline for giving notice to opt-out of the class and the consequences of opting-out of the class.”

Thai courts will also be able to appoint their own expert witnesses to testify, and set out appropriate remuneration and expenses. Interestingly, the draft law on class actions also states that courts must examine witnesses, even in cases where no defense is offered and/or a party does not appear for a hearing. In an ordinary trial, courts can often exercise discretion and disallow evidence examination if none has been submitted.

Class actions will become effective in Thailand from December 2015, having already received royal endorsement and publication in the Royal Gazette (only available in Thai).