Thailand civil liability | Thai law

This section of law aims to repair damages caused by others.

It is divided in two great chapters.

First, we talk about wrongful damages when the fault occurs in a delictual or quasi-delictual situation; for example, your child throws a rock in a window.

Then we talk about contract damages, when the fault occurs in a failure to abide by the specifications of a contract, whether the contract is verbal or in writing; for example, you signed a contract buying a new car but the dealer delivers a used one, or worse, he delivers no car at all.

Concerning the damages themselves, there may be bodily damages (for example an injury whether or not it is followed by permanent incapacity), material damages (for example a broken thing, like for instance a window), moral damages (for example libel, or inconvenient) or punitive damages (for example intentional disregard for protected rights), and damages may be exemplary (for example to punish a severe, intentional and repetitive tort).

If someone commits a fault causing damages, it is possible to have the Courts condemn the faulty party to repair the damages or pay a sum of money in compensation.

The greater the fault, and the more important the damages, that’s when it is usually necessary to have the Courts condemn the faulty party to financially compensate for the damages he or she has caused.

The process usually begins by a formal notice, describing the fault and the damages and giving a certain precise delay to remedy to those damages.

If the faulty party does not give complete satisfaction to what is described in the formal notice, then the Courts should be asked to intervene.

In Thailand, you must give a deposit to the Court equals to 2% of the value claimed (There is a minimum and maximum). For example, if you claim 1 million baht to the other party, you will have to give a 20,000 baht deposit. You can get back this amount if you win your case and the Court order the order party to pay you back this deposit. Also, if you settle your case before the trial or a judgment, you can ask the Court to give you back a part of this deposit but it won't be the total deposit. The Court normally issues a cheque to pay back this deposit.