Thailand Civil Procedure Code-Section 222/8-222/13

PART II
APPLICATION FOR PERMISSION TO CONDUCT A CLASS ACTION

Section 222/8.184 With regard to the following cases in which there are numerous members of a class, the plaintiff who is a member of the class may apply for a class action:

• Tort cases;
• Breach of contract cases;
• Cases claiming various legal rights, such as the laws concerning the environment, the protection of consumers or labour, securities and exchange, trade competit

Section 222/9.185 In applying for a class action to be conducted, the plaintiff shall file a motion with the court, together with the plaint instituting the case, for a class action to proceed under the provisions of this Chapter.

With regard to the motion for the class action to proceed under paragraph one, the plaintiff must demonstrate reasonable causes for the court to permit a class action to proceed.

Section 222/10.186 The plaintiff’s plaint must be made in writing and clearly set forth the nature of the claims and requests for enforcement, including the allegations on which such claims are based of the plaintiff and of the class of persons with the same characteristics as the plaintiff. In the case where the plaintiff makes a request demanding the defendant to pay a monetary debt, such request of the class of persons must specify the principles and methods of calculation for payment of money to the members of the class insofar as it is possible but it is not necessary for the amount of money to be received by each member of the class to be set forth.

In a class action, the plaintiff who institutes the case shall pay the fee on entry only for the requests for enforcement sought in the part of the plaintiff.

Section 222/11.187 In the case where the plaintiff files a motion for a class action to proceed, if the court views that there is no objection to the acceptance of the plaintiff’s plaint under section 18 or that there is an objection but it has already been corrected by the plaintiff, before the court issues an order accepting the plaint, it shall consider the plaintiff’s motion according to section 222/12 and then issue an order permitting or not permitting the class action without delay.

Section 222/12.188 In considering the motion for permission for a class action to proceed, the court shall cause to have a copy of the plaint and of the motion served on the defendant. The court, after hearing all parties and conducting an examination as it sees fit, may permit the class action to proceed only when the court is satisfied that:

1. the nature of the claims and requests for enforcement, including the allegations on which such claims are based of the plaintiff and of the class of persons have the characteristics prescribed in section 222/10;
2. the plaintiff can demonstrate the same unique characteristics of the class of persons which are sufficiently clear for the class to be acknowledged;
3. the class is so numerous that the conduct of a case as an ordinary case will be complicated and inconvenient;
4. the conduct of the case as a class action is more just and efficient than as an ordinary case;
5. the plaintiff can demonstrate that the plaintiff is a member of the class who has the qualifications, the interests, including the acquisition of the right to be a member of the class in accordance with the Regulations of the President of the Supreme Court, if any, and the plaintiff, including the counsels proposed by the plaintiff to be the counsels for the class is able to conduct the case in such a way that sufficiently and justly protects the rights of the class of persons.

In the court’s order of permission for a class action to proceed, the court may limit the scope of the class of persons so as to be sufficiently clear for the  class to be acknowledged.

The order permitting or not permitting a class action may be appealed to an appeal court within seven days from the date of issuance of such court’s order and the trial shall be stayed until such order becomes final. The appeal court shall make its decision at prompt and the decision of the appeal court shall be final.

In the case where the court issues an order permitting a class action, the court shall order for the plaint to be accepted for consideration. When a writ of summons has been served on the defendant, the defendant shall prepare and file an answer in writing with the court within one month, and the counsels of the plaintiff shall be deemed to be the counsels for the class.

In the case where the court issues an order not permitting a class action, the court shall continue the proceedings as an ordinary case.

Section 222/13.189 In the case where a motion for a class action concerning the same rights has been filed by several persons in the same court or in different courts, the court shall join such motions together for trial and issue an order for any one of the persons filing the motion to act as the plaintiff for the class action, in accordance with the criteria, procedures and conditions in the Regulations of the President of the Supreme Court under section 222/2. The order of the court under this section shall be final, except for cases under section 222/12, paragraph three.

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