Thai CISG
About Thailand & Thai Law

[the contents presented here are partly reproduced from Dr.Ruangvichathorn's LL.M. Dissertation ('Introduction' Part) whereby all quotations concerned have already been identified / Dissertation on "English and Thai Approaches to Some Typical Remedy Clauses in International Sales Contracts Compared"

Thailand or the Kingdom of Thailand (known in ancient name as "Siam") is a fast economy growing in South East Asia. Its size is twice bigger than the United Kingdom (UK), but, has slightly the same amount of population as the UK (the UK - size 244820 sqkm & population approx. 60 Million / Thailand - size 514000 sqkm & poppulation approx. 64 Million / composed by Google). Thailand is a democracy country in which the King is the Chief of the State. The monarch is hereditary but under the Constitution. The Prime Minister is the Head of the Government, elected every four years. Thailand has its own written and spoken language and was beyond the sphere of any western influence and tradition, including the English language, since it was the only country in South East Asia that remained independent during the expansion of colonization in the region. This was recorded by Paul Cammack, a western author ('Third World Politics - A Comparative Introduction': The Macmillan Press, 1993, p.26 ) that "… by the same date Cambodia and Laos were French protectorates, Britain had extended its authority over the Malayan states outside the federation, and only Siam, under the modernizing rule of King Chulalongkorn (King Rama V) survived as an independent entity…".

Thai legal system is based on civil law system, with influence of common law. Historically, Thailand was an absolute monarchy state until B.E.2475 (B.C.1932) in the period of King Rama VII of Ratanakosin dynasty (the present king is King Rama IX). Before the Ratanakosin dynasty in which King Rama I established the capital city of Bangkok in B.E.2325 (B.C.1782), it had been reported that "Khun Santralakan" (ancient judges) employed the ancient laws of "Ayuthaya", the previous dynasty, in making their judgments. These ancient laws were collected from personal notebooks and similar sources of the officers who were in charge at that time. Because of many defects in these laws as the time passed by, King Rama I decided to review the situation and enact a new substantive law, and "Kotmai Trasamduang" (a great treasure of the Kingdom / "Kotmai" means "Law") was promulgated in B.E.2347 (B.C.1804).

Kotmai Trasamduang   had been used for 103 years until the beginning of the period of King Rama V. In order to develop the country in many aspects as well as laws during the period of King Rama V, Prince Rajaburi, a son of King Rama V who was educated in England, had brought back English law to be taught widely in the Kingdom. Most of the written law textbooks and others at that time were based on English law or translated directly from English law. The judgments of the Appeal Court and the Supreme Court were also based on English procedure. As a consequence, it was believed that Thai law was exactly the same as English law and to understand law was to study English law. A number of Thai lawyers traveled to study law in England and many of them successfully passed the English Bar examination.

During the early expansion of western colonization in Asia, the Kingdom of Thailand had begun to face the jurisdiction problem. This was because in B.E.2347 (B.C.1804), the same year as King Rama I began to enact Kotmai Trasamduang, King Napolean of France also began to revise French law and enact it in the form of written law codes. As a consequence, many countries in Europe and South America derived this process from France, and it had been believed that any countries with no written law codes were regarded as uncivilized. Therefore, in the case of the Kingdom of Thailand, unless written law codes had been promulgated, an alien would only be subject to his own court established in the Kingdom under special protocols, which were made between the Kingdom and Western countries. This court was known as "San Kongsul" (Counsel Court) which gradually led to the problem of sovereignty in the Kingdom. It was, thus, strongly decided by the Kingdom to terminate the Counsel Court by beginning to promulgate written law codes as Japan had successfully done as the first country in Asia.

These written law codes which had to be promulgated were the Criminal/Penal Code, the Civil and Commercial Code, the Criminal Procedure Code, and the Civil Procedure Code. Thailand was successful in promulgating all of the written law codes shortly after being changed into a democratic country. This was, inevitably, a great change for the country. It was not only that the country had to change its own legal system, but also it had to change its legal philosophy. In other words, it meant that Thai lawyers and Thai judges could no longer employ English law and English procedure as before.

Consequently, as the Thai legal system was changed into a codification system which is widely used in many European countries and known as the civil law system, Thai law has to be based on written law codes since then. In reality, however, Thai lawyers and judges are still seen familiar with English law, especially English procedure, and this is the reason why common law influence is not extinct from Thai legal system.
Thailand & CISG