subject: Top 6 Thai Law Updates For February/march 2010 [print this page] Just like every country across the world, Thai laws are constantly being refined to respond to changes in society. The Thai environment is one that is unique in most areas of the world - today Thailand lawyers take a look at how our equally unique legal landscape has evolved over the past month.
1.Nominee shareholders may face punishment
The enormous GGF group is currently undergoing a test case regarding the punishment of possible nominee shareholders. There are accusations that one of the majority shareholders in GGF when they were incorporated in Thailand was actually a nominee. The retrospective nature of the action means that Thai business lawyers expect many firms to be affected by this action.
2.Property development, construction and service companies increasing
The highest number of company registrations in almost a century has been recorded, with most of the new registrations coming from the construction, property development and services sectors. While this development doesn't indicate an immediate change in Thai law, experts in Thai corporate legal services feel that an increasing umber of companies could definitely lead to legal changes, including tighter regulations around business practices and company setup, as we have seen precedents for in the past.
3.Trade Competition Act to be overhauled
The Trade Competition Act and the administering body, the Competition Commission, have recently faced comments of ineffectiveness. No businesses (at all) have been prosecuted under the Act since 1999, when it was first penned. Obviously, Thai lawyers would point out that the correlation of these two facts doesn't necessarily indicate causation. However, the fact is certainly cause for scrutiny, and possibly a change in Thailand's laws.
4.Dalai Lama's sister denied entry to Thailand
In an interesting legal precedent (though one that Thailand legal services feel would not necessarily be widely applicable), the Dalai Lama's sister was denied entry into Thailand on the grounds that her admission might upset another country, referring obviously to China. We see questions begged about the possibility of upsetting the woman's home country compared to another country, and whether the Visa office is the appropriate body to comment on such issues.
5.Foreign exchange rules loosened
where previously financial institutions had to report all non-resident transactions over BT500, 001 daily on a collective basis, along with individual reports on a case-by-case basis, the limit has now been lifted to BT1, 000,000.
6.Migrant worker registration scheme may be extended
Businesses with migrant workers are being urged by their Thai legal service team to have their employees return to their home country and register as a migrant worker in Thailand. Workers who do not face arrest and deportation, a Labor Department spokesperson has said. It is possible that the deadline for registration under Thai law will be extended, however.
