Section 222/33 — Interruption of prescription for members
Texte légal (original thaï)
ในกรณีที่ศาลมีคำสั่งถึงที่สุดอนุญาตให้ดำเนินคดีแบบกลุ่มให้อายุความในการฟ้องคดีของสมาชิกกลุ่มสะดุดหยุดลงนับแต่วันที่โจทก์ยื่นคำร้องขออนุญาตให้ดำเนินคดีแบบกลุ่ม
ในกรณีที่ศาลมีคำสั่งถึงที่สุดไม่อนุญาตให้ดำเนินคดีแบบกลุ่ม หากปรากฏว่าอายุความการฟ้องคดีของสมาชิกกลุ่มครบกำหนดไปแล้วในระหว่างการพิจารณาคำร้องขออนุญาตให้ดำเนินคดีแบบกลุ่ม หรือจะครบกำหนดภายในกำหนดเวลาหกสิบวันนับแต่วันที่ศาลมีคำสั่งถึงที่สุด ให้สมาชิกกลุ่มมีสิทธิฟ้องคดีเพื่อตั้งหลักฐานสิทธิเรียกร้องหรือเพื่อให้ชำระหนี้ภายในหกสิบวันนับแต่วันที่ศาลมีคำสั่งถึงที่สุด
traduction anglaise
Where the court has issued a final order permitting the class action, the prescription period for the filing of a claim by the group members shall be interrupted from the date on which the plaintiff filed the request for permission to conduct the class action.
Where the court has issued a final order not permitting the class action, if it appears that the prescription period for the filing of a claim by the group members expired during the consideration of the request for permission to conduct the class action, or will expire within sixty days from the date on which the court issued the final order, the group members shall have the right to file a case to establish evidence of their claim or to obtain payment of the debt within sixty days from the date on which the court issued the final order.
Cette traduction anglaise est fournie à titre indicatif uniquement et n'a pas encore été vérifiée de manière définitive ; référez-vous toujours à l'original thaï.
Annotation de l'entreprise
This section solves a structural problem of class litigation: individual members do not sue in their own name, so without a special rule their claims could lapse while the class case proceeds. It provides that final certification interrupts prescription for all members retroactively to the date the certification request was filed, aligning the members' timeline with the representative action. The mirror rule protects members if certification is ultimately refused by granting a sixty-day grace period to file individually where the limitation period expired during, or is about to expire just after, the process. It works together with section 222/34, which addresses what happens when the interrupting effect is later undone.
Pourquoi cela est important en pratique
For anyone relying on a class action to protect their claim, this section is reassuring but not a blank cheque: if certification is refused, you may have only sixty days to file your own lawsuit, so watch the final order date closely. Do not assume the class action alone permanently preserves your rights, because section 222/34 can treat the interruption as never having happened in certain outcomes. If your claim depends on a class action that fails, act fast on the sixty-day window; missing it can bar an otherwise good debt or damages claim.
Foire aux questions
Does a class action stop the limitation period from running for group members?
Yes. Under section 222/33, once the class action is finally certified, prescription for group members' claims is interrupted from the date the plaintiff filed the request for permission to conduct the class action.
What if the class action is refused and my claim is about to expire?
Section 222/33 gives group members sixty days from the final order refusing certification to file their own case where the limitation period expired during the process or will expire within sixty days.