When the Court renders a decision on who shall lose a case or has to pay debts or perform some measure, if there is no further appeal or petition to the Appeal and/or Supreme Court, such party losing the case shall be the “judgment debtor” (JD). They must abide by the decision of the Court. Otherwise, the party who won the case can ask the Court to enforce the judgment as per the court order. This process is generally known as the legal execution process.
The legal execution is performed under the Civil Procedure Law of Thailand, Section 274, which stipulates:
“If a person has become a surety (judgment debtor) in Court by way of a bond or otherwise for the performance of an obligation under a judgment or order or any part thereof, such judgment or order may be used to enforce the execution of the guarantee without having to institute a case against the surety (judgment debtor).”
In relation to legal execution, if the JD does not comply with the decree or an order of the Court issued in accordance with the judgment, the judgment creditor (JC) (the party who won the case) shall be entitled to request execution by means of seizure of property, attachment of claims or other execution measures.
In accordance with the Civil Procedure Law of Thailand, Section 275, the judgment creditor may file to the Court an ex parte (one-sided) application for a writ of execution. The application shall expressly mention:
The legal execution process shall not be enforced with a third party not involved with the case or who is not the JD. In addition, in case of seizure of property, we have to be concerned about the ownership of such property. If such property belongs to another person, the law will protect their right; he or she shall submit the request to release the property from legal execution.
Moreover, the legal execution process must be requested by the judgment creditor within ten years from the date of rendering the final judgment of the Court. Furthermore, if the judgment or order requires the obligation to be performed in installments on a monthly or annual basis, or be performed in the future, such period will be counted from the date on which the performance of obligations under such judgment is enforceable.
In reference to the request from the JC, it shall be declared the obligations have not been performed by the JD yet as well as the method through which they wish the Court to proceed in the legal execution process. Once the Court agrees with such an application, an executing officer shall be appointed by the Court to manage this process. While the Court is considering such a request, the judgment creditor shall have the right to request a measurement to protect their benefits as well.
The Debt Collection Act B.E. 2558 specifies that the borrower takes responsibility for contract costs, delivery of property costs, and return of property costs. In the case of loans where the loan amount was under THB 2,000, witness testimony is enough to establish a legal loan. If the amount is more than THB 2,000, a written evidence is required.
The highest legal interest rate permitted by law on loans is 15% annually. Higher rates are automatically reduced unless there is a legal reason for a higher rate, such as might be found with some financial institutions.
Legally, only the following circumstances may constitute compound interest rates. Under any other circumstance, the law generally prohibits compound interest.
In bankruptcy proceedings, when goods, services, or properties are accepted as a form of repayment, the Thai Court meticulously evaluates their market value to determine the equivalent amount of debt repaid. This approach applies even in instances where repayment is exclusively in the form of goods or property, with no monetary compensation involved. The Court ensures that the value assigned accurately reflects the debt coverage. Furthermore, in situations where a contract acknowledges the accrual of interest but fails to specify a rate, the Thai Court is authorized to impose an interest rate of 5% per annum.
When the Thai government passed the debt collection act, they meant to establish fair debt collection protocols and other standardized collection rules. The debt collection law applies to individual creditors, institutional lenders, and all other debt collectors. How creditors collect debts is now carefully regulated, and debtors are now more protected.
A debt collector is only permitted to communicate with the debtor themselves (individual debtors) or a company or person authorized by the debtor. Third parties may only be approached by a collector in order to ascertain information or find out where the debtor is. Even in this case, the debt collector may not inform the third party that a debt is owed by the debtor. Only a spouse, parent, or child of the individual debtor may be informed that a debt is owed.
All communication from the debt collector to the third party related to debt collection must be strictly confidential. No hint, in any form, can be made that any communication is related to debt collection when trying to establish the debtor’s whereabouts. This includes, but is not limited to, the name of a debt collection agency, how much or even that the debtor owes money, reference to debtor companies or debt recovery, etc. There are also specific times during which the collector is allowed to contact the debtor:
The debtor will also disclose a list of places by which the debt collector may contact the debtor. Any lawyers for debt collectors are obliged to state information about themselves in correspondence:
In cases where a collector seeks to make a debt collection face to face or demands performance, they need to be able to show power of attorney (a debt collection, therefore, cannot be made by just anyone). When the debt collectors contact the debtor, and the debtor pays, the collector must provide the debtor evidence of the payment. In other words, if the debtor pays the debt they must receive a receipt for their payment. This also applies when a business hired to collect does so successfully.
Collectors who attempt to collect a debt may not do the following:
We have identified that delays in the legal execution process often stem from the judgment creditor's postponement in submitting the application for legal execution or in requesting the Court to implement measures against the assets of the judgment debtor. Such scenarios underscore the importance of skilled legal representation to efficiently conclude the case.
As a distinguished litigation law firm in Thailand, Juslaws & Consult is committed to providing exemplary legal services from the onset of a case to its resolution. Our expertise encompasses guiding clients through the complexities of the legal execution process, ensuring that every step is taken with precision and diligence to facilitate a timely and favorable outcome.
