The conflict rules in personal injury cases in Thailand are governed by Thailand’s Conflict of Laws Act B.E 2481. Conflict of laws is defined as a set of procedural rules used to determine what law governs a certain dispute in cases where the act or issue involves a foreign element. In Thailand, when a person willfully or negligently causes injury to another person’s body, life, liberty, property, or right, he is bound to compensate the injured for the damage caused.
What law governs the act and claim depends upon the presence of a foreign element in the case. If there is no foreign element involved, the Civil and Commercial Code of Thailand simply governs the acts and claims. When the wrongful act was committed by or against a foreigner, who is under the jurisdiction of Thai laws, a foreign element is said to be present in the case and hence the Conflict of Laws Act of the country should be applied.
Under Section 15 of the Conflict laws Act of Thailand, an obligation arising from a wrongful act committed by a person is governed by the law of the place where the essential elements constituting the wrongful act were committed. It is the law of the place where the wrongful act was committed that governs the rights and obligations of the parties to the personal injury case. However, it is also specifically stated under the same law that acts committed in a foreign country that are not considered as a wrongful act in Thailand shall not be covered by the said Act.
Compensations awarded to the injured party vary from the gravity or circumstances of each case. However, under the Thai Conflict Rules in personal injury cases, a party cannot claim compensation or remedy other than those allowed by the Thailand laws.
