Jurisdiction of Electronic Transaction in Thailand

Songsil Norintorongkul Na Ayudhaya*

As we can see from the definition, the Electronic Transaction Act B.E.2544 (2001) clarifies the meaning of electronic transaction in order to avoid confusion in interpretation of the Act.

After exploring all potential definitions of electronic transaction according to the Model Law and Thai law, it can be concluded that electronic transaction to mean an act relating to civil and commercial activities in the nature of a contract, agreement or other arrangement which uses the means of electronic communication, such as electronic data interchange (EDI), electronic mail, telegram. telex or telecopy.

Principles of Jurisdiction of Electronic Transaction in Thai Law

The Electronic Transaction Law has recently been developed in Thailand. In April 2002 the Electronic Transaction Act B.E.2544 (2001) was enforced after one hundred and twenty days from the date of its publication in the Government Gazette. This Act applies to civil and commercial transactions using electronic means in order to uphold the validity and enforceability of electronic transactions at the same level as the traditional commercial transaction. This Act provides rules concerning many areas of law such as validity, formation of electronic transaction, writing requirement, electronic signature, admissibility of electronic evidence and rules of contractual offer and acceptance. However this Act does not explicitly prescribe principles of jurisdiction of electronic transactions. And this Act is the latest Act which is promulgated in this day. There are many laws in the area of electronic commerce such as Cyber crime, Privacy law which will be developed and enforced in Thailand in the near future. Therefore, in the absence of clear prescription of jurisdiction issues in the Electronic Transaction Act B.E.2544 (2001), existing Thai laws in relation to traditional jurisdiction need to be considered in order to determine the jurisdiction of electronic transactions. Since jurisdiction of electronic transaction concerns with civil and commercial matters rather than the criminal act, rules of jurisdiction in traditional civil and commercial case are established in the Civil Procedure Code B.E.2477 (1934).

Basically, principles of Thai Court jurisdiction over the defendant involve many factors such as nationality or domicile of plaintiff or defendant, the place where the cause of action arose, and the place of residence of defendant. Thus, the defendant can be subjected to Thai jurisdiction if the defendant has connection with Thailand, which depends on factors mentioned above.

According to the Civil Procedure Code B.E.2477 (1934) Section 4(1) provides basic principles of personal jurisdiction that