An Amendment to the Civil Procedure Code (No. 32) Act B.E. 2563 (the “Amendment”) was announced in the Royal Thai Government Gazette on 8^th September 2020 and will be in effective on 7^th November 2020. 

The Amendment introduces a new civil procedure whereby a party can request a civil court to appoint a mediator to mediate a civil dispute between such party and another party before such dispute is submitted to the court (the “Civil Mediation before Litigation”). The Civil Mediation before Litigation is prescribed in the newly-added Section 20 Ter of the Civil Procedure Code which its procedure may be summarized as follows:

1. Before a party files a complaint of dispute as a civil case to a competent court, any party of such dispute may request such court to appoint a mediator to mediate        such dispute;

2. Names and domiciles of the parties to the dispute as well as details of the dispute shall be provided in the request for Civil  Mediation before Litigation;

3. If the court finds appropriate, the court will ask the other party whether it wishes to proceed with the mediation or not;

4. If the parties wish to proceed with the mediation, the court shall summon the parties to the court as well as their lawyers (if any) and appoint the mediator to further      mediate the dispute;

5. If both parties are able settle the dispute, the mediator shall propose the settlement to the court for its consideration; and

6. If the court finds that the settlement reflects the parties’ intentions, is in good faith, fair and in order, such settlement agreement shall be executed by the parties.          The court may also render its judgment pursuant to the executed settlement agreement on the same day if requested, with reasonable cause, by a party to such            agreement.

Furthermore, there is no court fee for the Civil Mediation before Litigation and if the dispute cannot be settled within this process and the prescription period for such dispute (i) has lapsed after the request for the mediation is submitted or (ii) will lapse within 60 days from the date that the mediation is over, by virtue of this Amendment, the prescription period shall be automatically extended for 60 days from the date that the mediation is over.

The Civil Mediation before Litigation provides a mediation procedure for parties in dispute offering a faster solution with support from the court. In addition, the Amendment aims that its effect would reduce time and resources normally consumed in normal litigation proceedings bringing more efficiency and benefit to the economy and society.  

If you have any queries on the Civil Mediation before Litigation, please feel free to contact us at enquiries@southasia-law.com and we shall revert to you as soon as practicable.