The following is a guest post by Chayada Polpun, a summer intern working in the Global Legal Research Center (GLRC), Law Library of Congress. I interviewed Chayada recently. You can learn about Chayada’s background and her work at GLRC by reading her interview which was published in In Custodia Legis on August 22, 2013.
It is my pleasure to share my experience in researching Thai law by contributing a blog post for the In Custodia Legis Global Legal Collection Highlights’ series. I will walk you through must-know information for any person who wants to do business in Thailand, explore other areas in Thai law, or generally broaden his/her intellectual horizon.
Most people know Thailand for its exquisite Thai cuisine that includes dishes like Tom Yum Kung and Pad Thai, or because of Thailand’s captivating touristic sites like the Grand Palace and Phi Phi Island.
Before you pack your bags and fly to Thailand, you may want to learn a bit about the history and the culture of the country. For instance, it is important to know that Thailand has been a monarchy ruled by kings for hundreds of years and changed to a democracy in 1932. Today Thailand is a constitutional monarchy in which the king serves as the head of state and the prime minister as the head of the government. Thai people revere their kings and are taught to protect the Thai nation, its religion and its royal institutions. It is important to note that according to Section 112 of the Thai Penal Code whoever defames, insults, or expresses a grudge against the king and the royal family commits an offense and is subject to imprisonment.
For people interested in Thai law, the Law Library of Congress provides several useful books in the English language. These books cover a variety of legal issues. For your convenience I chose to list the following books:
- Benjawan Poomsan Becker, Thai Law for Foreigners (2008);
- Sathit Lenthaisong, J., Thai Laws for Foreigners (2009).
A common area of interest regarding Thailand, considering its cheap labor, sound infrastructure, and openness for new ideas is that of investment. The Law Library of Congress has the following titles on doing business in Thailand:
- Doing Business in Thailand, The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (2004);
- Michael Doyle, Doyle’s Practice Guide to Business Law in Emerging Countries in Asia (Millie Lindsay, ed., 2010);
- Globalization and Local Adaptation in International Trade Law p. 61-74 (Pitman B Potter et al, eds., 2011);
- Law and Development in Asia p. 305-324 (Gerald Pual McAlinn et al, eds., 2012).
I hope this post will help you learn more about Thai law. For further research, you can submit questions through Ask a Librarian.