Thailand Law Journal 2010 Spring Issue 1 Volume 13

2.3 Terms of working, training, work assignment, supervision, salary or compensation, disbarment, hiring of other professional experts

The official receiver as a government office receives a monthly salary according to the salary table designated by the Ministry of Finance with retirement set at the age of sixty. There is r\o specific training program for a novice official receiver. Generally, there is basic training for new government; officers held by the OCSC. At the LED, the new official receivers learn from their seniors in each division and from day-to-day practice. Work assignment at the LED is in a random manner; cases are distributed proportionately among five bankruptcy divisions.

There is a hierarchy of command in each division which represents the checking system of the official receiver work. The work starts from the receiver to the head of the unit to the Director of the division to the Deputy Director-General and to the Director-General of the LED respectively. Under the Bankruptcy Act, if any bankrupt, creditor, or other person suffers any-loss because of any act or decision by the receiver, such person may file a motion to the court within a period of fourteen days from the date on which he/she became aware of such act or decision. The court has the power to confirm, reverse, or amend, or issue any order as it deems proper (section 146). In carrying out his/her duties, the receiver will have no liability, except when he/she has acted with evil intent or gross negligence (section 147). However, if the injured party does not file such motion within six months from the date when the right of action arises, it shall be deemed to be barred by prescription (section 148). If the receiver causes any loss to the bankrupt estate through evil intent or by gross negligence, the court is empowered to order that the receiver pay compensation personally to such an amount as it deems proper (section 152). An official receiver as a government officer has to also follow the guidelines stipulated in the GOR Act such as he/she must honestly and justly perform his/her duties, work diligently, pay attention to every detail for the benefit of the government and the public and follow the lawful orders of his/her superiors otherwise he/she may face disciplinary sanctions including probation, salary cutting, demotion, discharge and firing.

In proceeding with an action in court, the receiver is empowered to employ a lawyer to act on his/her behalf (section 141). The receiver can hire other professional experts such as an accountant, a repossession man, etc. in order to manage any pending business of the debtor and to dispose the assets of the debtor according to section 22 of the Bankruptcy Act.

3. Roles of the official receiver or bankruptcy trustee or bankruptcy administrator in foreign countries
3.1 The United States of America⁶

There are two types of trustees in charge of bankruptcy administration in the US: The United States Trustee and the private bankruptcy trustee. Title 11 of the United States Code ("The Bankruptcy Code") provides for a system of U.S. Trustees approved by the Attorney General, supervised and assisted by the Department of Justice in all states, except Alabama and North Carolina. The main duties of the U.S. Trustee and administrators are to supervise the cases under chapters 7. 11, 12, or 13 of title 11. to appoint trustees, examiners and creditors’ committees, to review and comment on fee applications uniformly in accordance with procedural guidelines adopted by the Executive Office of the U.S. Trustee, to monitor and comment on Chapter 11 disclosure statements and plans, and to remove administrative duties from the bankruptcy judge.

The U.S. Trustee maintains and conducts an open system for the recruitment of a person interested in serving on the panel of private trustees. To be eligible for membership on a panel, a person must possess all of the qualifications established by the Attorney General of the United States under 28 U.S.C. 586(d) and published in the Code of Federal Regulation sat 28 C.F.R. $ 58.3. One of the qualifications is that the panel member must be either a member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of a state or of the District of Columbia; a certified public accountant; a college graduate with a bachelor's degree from a full four-year course of study (or the equivalent) of an accredited college or university with a major in a business-related field of study or at least 20 semester-hours of business-related courses; or hold a master's or doctoral degree in a business-related field of study from a college or university of the type described above, etc.

Prior to appointment, each person is interviewed and informed of the performance expected. The trustee must successfully undergo initial and five year background checks which include name and fingerprint checks, a tax check with the Internal Revenue Service, and a report on credit history (with disclosure authorization) .All panel members are generally appointed for one year renewable terms. The U.S. Trustee prepares a written review of the trustee's performance. Furthermore, the U.S. Trustee provides regional and local training for all trustees on an ongoing basis.

The training should help trustees keep abreast of recent developments in bankruptcy law and issues which affect estate administration. Training also covers standards and other requirements for trustee performance, including record keeping and reporting. The training for new trustees includes initial training prior to case assignment and periodic one-on-one training thereafter, as appropriate.

To qualify to serve, the trustee must furnish a bond in favor of the United States that is conditioned on the faithful performance of the trustee's duties ($322). The U.S. Trustee determines the amount and terms of the bond and the sufficiency of the surety on each bond ($322(b)(2)). Unless the U.S.  Trustee directs otherwise, a panel trustee covered by a regional or district blanket bond does not have to file a separate bond in each case. Since the   bond protects the estate beneficiaries and not the trustee, a trustee may wish to consider obtaining professional liability insurance coverage. The U.S. Trustee appoints panel members to chapter 7 cases on a fair and equitable basis by utilizing a blind rotation system that includes all chapter 7 cases, whether asset or no-asset. A trustee is expected to accept all cases assigned, unless there is a conflict of interest or other extraordinary circumstances. Creditors in a chapter 7 case may request the opportunities to elect a trustee at the section 341 (a) meeting. The election is properly requested if creditors having     20 percent in amount of the eligible claims request the election.