On 20 September 2018, the National Legislative Assembly ("NLA") admitted for consideration the draft Labour Protection Act amendment. The responsible sub-committee has also been appointed by the NLA on the same day. The following are a sample of the key amendments proposed under the draft amendment.
- Employees are entitled to business leave up to 3 days with wages paid, which is not available under the existing laws.
- A period of statutory maternity leave is extended from 90 days to 98 days, and such leave may be taken before the delivery.
- Maximum rate of statutory severance pay is increased from 300 days' wages (for continuous employment exceeding 10 years) to 400 days' wages (for continuous employment exceeding 20 years).
- Employee's consent must be obtained in case of the change to corporate employer as a result of merger, acquisition, or transfer of ownership. The new employer must accept all rights and obligations of the previous employer in relation to the employee upon such change.
The Cabinet approved in principle a proposed amendment to the draft Civil Procedure Code on 11 September 2018. The draft amendment allows two parties to apply for the appointment of a negotiator to facilitate a settlement of their dispute, before a civil case is initiated and brought to the court.
The parties would also be entitled to request the Court to render a judgement if the settlement can be reached during the negotiation process. This process is not available under existing laws and is expected to help reduce the number of cases in Court in the future.
On 4 September 2018, the Cabinet approved 7 individuals to sit as Commissioners of the Trade Competition Commission, namely:
- Mr. Sutham Yoonaitham;
- Mr. Krissada Piampongsan;
- Mr. Somchart Soithong;
- Mrs. Aramsri Rupan;
- Mr. Wissanu Wongsinsirikul;
- Mr. Santichai Santawanpat; and
- Mr. Somkiat Tankittiwat.
However, as reported in the Government Gazette on 1 October 2018, a new Commission will need to be appointed in replacement of Mr. Sutham Yoonaitham, who has been appointed a commissioner of the Energy Regulatory Commission. Applications will be open for the new position from 4 October to 5 November 2018.
The process of considering draft subordinate laws, which are needed to implement the Trade Competition Act B.E. 2560 (2017) which took effect in October 2017, continues. On 27 August 2018, Thailand's Office of Trade Competition Commission ("OTCC") published six new draft notifications as follows:
- Draft Notification of Trade Competition Commission re: Criteria on Being a Business Operator with Market Dominance B.E. 2561;
- Draft Notification of Trade Competition Commission re: Criteria, Procedures and Conditions for Notification of the Outcome of a Merger B.E. 2561;
- Draft Notification of Trade Competition Commission re: Criteria, Procedures and Conditions for Request for Permission and Permission to Conduct a Merger B.E. 2561;
- Draft Notification of Trade Competition Commission re: Criteria for Considering the Acquisition of the Assets or Shares in order to Control Policy, Business Administration, Direction or Management that is a Merger B.E. 2561;
- Draft Notification of Trade Competition Commission on Criteria on Collecting or Bringing Goods as a Sample B.E. 2561; and
- Draft Notification of Trade Competition Commission re: Criteria, Procedures, Conditions, Processes and Guidelines for Consideration of the Amount of Settlement Fine B.E.
The six drafts were available (in Thai) at http://otcc.dit.go.th/?page_id=5691 and open for comments by interested persons during the period from 27 August to 25 September 2018. The draft notifications may be further revised before they are approved and issued.
The Act Supplementing the Constitution Relating to the Prevention and Suppression of Corruption B.E. 2561 (2018) ("New Anti-Corruption Act") was published in the Government Gazette on 21 July 2018 and came into force on 22 July 2018. The New Anti-Corruption Act repeals and replaces the Organic Act on Anti-Corruption B.E. 2542 (1999) ("Previous Act"), as amended, effectively reiterating the provisions of the Previous Act and making the scope of power of the National Anti-Corruption Commission ("NACC") clearer.
Several key changes are summarised below:
- Section 176 of the New Anti-Corruption Act now clearly states that liability under this Act would extend to a juristic person incorporated under foreign law conducting business in Thailand, whereas the Previous Act was silent on this issue.
- The provisions on cooperation with foreign countries are more explicit in the New Anti-Corruption Act, which is intended to promote consistentcy with the United Nations Convention against Corruption. Under the New Anti-Corruption Act, the NACC is designated as the center for international cooperation against corruption according to international obligations and agreements on anti-corruption and the NACC may take action in response to a request for assistance from a foreign country regarding corruption matters. The request submitted to the NACC does not need to be made under the law on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters.
- Where a foreign official, an international organisation official or any related person commits an offence under Sections 173 to 176 of the New Anti-Corruption Act, the NACC may consider forwarding such matter to the foreign authority to proceed with the case in accordance with the law of that country.
- Where there is a request for assistance from foreign countries under the laws on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters to proceed the case against the foreign officials, international organisation officials or any persons who have committed an offence under Sections 173 to 177 of the New Anti-Corruption Act, the NACC has the power and authority to investigate, consider the matter and take any actions as requested.
Other key provisions of the Previous Act continue to have effect, namely:
- The New Anti-Corruption Act repeats the language prohibiting a Government Official from accepting property or other benefit, except for a property or benefit eligible in accordance with the law, rule or regulation issued by virtue of the provision of law, unless it is an acceptance of property or other benefit on a customary basis according to the regulation prescribed by the NACC. At present, the NACC Regulations issued under the Previous Act continue to apply.
- The New Anti-Corruption Act also provides that, where an alleged offender or a defendant escapes during the prosecution or Court trial, the duration of time during which the alleged offender or defendant escaped should not be counted as part of the limitation period.
- Where a person committing a bribery offence is a person related to a juristic person and commits such act for the benefit of such juristic person, such juristic person will also be liable unless the juristic person can prove that it maintains a proper internal control measure to prevent such act.
