In Thailand, there is currently no general legislation governing the recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments. This means that a judgment creditor holding a foreign judgment must generally initiate new litigation in a Thai court. However, the Supreme Court of Thailand has issued rulings on whether foreign court judgments can be introduced in subsequent Thai legal proceedings. To elaborate, Supreme Court Decisions No. 585/2561 and No. 2351/2548 suggest that for a foreign court judgment to be admissible in Thai judicial proceedings, it must satisfy three criteria: (1) The judgment must be final; (2) It must be issued by a court with subject-matter jurisdiction; and (3) The foreign judgment must not contravene the public order or moral standards of Thai people. Even when these conditions are met, a Thai court will only consider the foreign judgment as one element of evidence within the case.
Nevertheless, an exception exists under specific legislation, notably the Act on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage B.E. 2560, Article 36, which permits the enforcement of final foreign court judgements related to oil pollution from contracting states of the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, 1992. Enforcement under this specific act is precluded if: (1) The judgment was obtained through fraud; (2) The defendant was not properly served with the court subpoena or was otherwise unable to defend themselves adequately; or (3) The judgment contravenes the public order or moral standards of Thai people. However, it is noteworthy that this provision for recognizing and enforcing foreign judgments is narrowly tailored to the specific circumstances outlined in the Act.
To summarize, Thailand does not have a general framework for the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. When foreign judgments are presented in Thai courts, they are treated as merely one element of evidence. The Act on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage B.E. 2560 (2017), Article 36 is only an exception, allowing for the enforcement of foreign judgments under narrowly defined conditions.
The information in the above write-up is provided only for general guidance and is not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers and/or users should refrain from acting on the above information without first seeking independent legal advice.