How to sue someone for libel?

[udonthani1]

I understand libel is a criminal offense in Thailand. I understand that the defendant would be required to pay bail automatically. Just curious what are the steps to sue someone? Thank you.

[Tywais]

Believe contacting any number of politicians will afford an answer.

Seriously though here is an exert from a PDF file partly explaining it.

6.1.1 Thai law allows those who claim to be defamed to make use of the police and State prosecutors in pursuing defamation cases in court, which is tantamount to using State resources to redeem a personal interest. In Thailand, when an injured person files charges with the police, the latter investigate the case and gather relevant evidence. The Office of the Attorney General then decides whether the case is substantial enough to be prosecuted in court and, if so, it appoints a State prosecutor as plaintiff. As a result, the claimant is relieved of the burden of spending its own financial resources to pursue the case. In many other countries, injured parties have to appoint their own lawyers and spend their own resources to prosecute criminal defamation cases (as is the case with civil cases).

http://www.article19.org/pdfs/analysis/thailand-impact-of-defamation-law-on-freedom-of-expression.pdf

However it will serve you well to read the complications going that route - Criminal Defamation as a Business Tool

I will PM you a link to a blog site that shows a personal case and what the procedure that they went through.

[Tywais]

Profanity post removed. If you can't help the OP, well you know the drill.

[Tywais]

Best bet though is to contact a lawyer for a consult to see what the procedures are and your likelihood of success.

[Tywais]

Another nonsense post removed. If my previous comment wasn't clear then make this an official warning to stop trolling the topic.

[boosta]

If you're a foreigner thinking of suing a Thai, best of luck to you.

In the unlikely event you won a battle or two you're still going to lose the war.

Of course rules are different for large MNCs with deep pockets, but they've got their Thai allies on board.

[joeaverage]

If you're a foreigner thinking of suing a Thai, best of luck to you.

In the unlikely event you won a battle or two you're still going to lose the war.

Of course rules are different for large MNCs with deep pockets, but they've got their Thai allies on board.

why do people insist upon saying this.

Are you speaking from any direct experience or is this just your opinion?

I know a number of people (foreign) who have sued thai nationals and all have won because their cases were solid.

Edited June 22, 2013 by joeaverage

[GooEng]

Some details with names changed to protect the innocent/guilty would be interesting joeaverage.

[Eesat]

"How to sue someone for libel?"

Go to a Police Station,present your evidence,make a report and demand to press charges.The same as in any other country I imagine?

[boosta]

If you're a foreigner thinking of suing a Thai, best of luck to you.

In the unlikely event you won a battle or two you're still going to lose the war.

Of course rules are different for large MNCs with deep pockets, but they've got their Thai allies on board.

why do people insist upon saying this.

Are you speaking from any direct experience or is this just your opinion?

I know a number of people (foreign) who have sued thai nationals and all have won because their cases were solid.

If you read my post you'll see I wasn't talking about winning a suit specifically but accomplishing the larger overall objective. My direct and long experience here is that it's having well-connected Thais that helps or hurts you here much more than legalistic maneuvers, and that a foreigner using the Thai legal system to accomplish their larger goals can have unintended consequences, sometimes coming back and biting you in the arse without any clear connection to the ultimate cause.

[Eesat]

If you're a foreigner thinking of suing a Thai, best of luck to you.

In the unlikely event you won a battle or two you're still going to lose the war.

Of course rules are different for large MNCs with deep pockets, but they've got their Thai allies on board.

why do people insist upon saying this.

Are you speaking from any direct experience or is this just your opinion?

I know a number of people (foreign) who have sued thai nationals and all have won because their cases were solid.

If you read my post you'll see I wasn't talking about winning a suit specifically but accomplishing the larger overall objective. My direct and long experience here is that it's having well-connected Thais that helps or hurts you here much more than legalistic maneuvers, and that a foreigner using the Thai legal system to accomplish their larger goals can have unintended consequences, sometimes coming back and biting you in the arse without any clear connection to the ultimate cause.

Anyone even asking these type of questions makes me believe they have no clue how things work here and won't be here for much longer!

[Sharp]

If you're a foreigner thinking of suing a Thai, best of luck to you.

In the unlikely event you won a battle or two you're still going to lose the war.

Of course rules are different for large MNCs with deep pockets, but they've got their Thai allies on board.

why do people insist upon saying this.

Are you speaking from any direct experience or is this just your opinion?

I know a number of people (foreign) who have sued thai nationals and all have won because their cases were solid.

Yep I've done it ....

Sent from my iPad using ThaiVisa app

[mogandave]

First, be sure you have much more money than the person you are trying to sue. Otherwise, fugetaboudit.

[nontabury]

"How to sue someone for libel?"

Go to a Police Station,present your evidence,make a report and demand to press charges.The same as in any other country I imagine?

I'm glad you added the words " I imagine"

My wife(Thai) and I were charged with deformation due to a land dispute,it was not so much that they had to prove we were guilty, it was more a case of us having to prove our innocence. This we managed to do, only because we could prove that we were elsewhere at the time of the completely fabricated and malicious allegations. We are now going (privately)through the costly and time consuming action of taking the other person through the courts to try and claim damages, this after the police knowing a farang was involved,basically refused to help us in pressing charges. I say "WE" when in actual fact it is only my wife who is the plaintiff,as we were politely informed that if my name(farang)was added, it would seriously reduce our chance of winning. As it is, we have had to pay out a considerably amount of money just to get the defendant into court, including paying the police and others to arrest the defendant when they had repeatedly ignored the courts orders to appear before it.

This is not any other country,this is Thailand.

[Jigger]

If you're a foreigner thinking of suing a Thai, best of luck to you.

In the unlikely event you won a battle or two you're still going to lose the war.

Of course rules are different for large MNCs with deep pockets, but they've got their Thai allies on board.

why do people insist upon saying this.

Are you speaking from any direct experience or is this just your opinion?

I know a number of people (foreign) who have sued thai nationals and all have won because their cases were solid.

If you read my post you'll see I wasn't talking about winning a suit specifically but accomplishing the larger overall objective. My direct and long experience here is that it's having well-connected Thais that helps or hurts you here much more than legalistic maneuvers, and that a foreigner using the Thai legal system to accomplish their larger goals can have unintended consequences, sometimes coming back and biting you in the arse without any clear connection to the ultimate cause.

Boosta, ill retype what you actually mean...

"I have heard some horror stories, weather i heard them on the Internet or in a bar, I have taken these horror stories as gospel, and then continued to believe anything and everything I have read in ThaiVisa"....

I think thats what you meant...

Udon, I know of two expats (a pom and a swede) who have taken Thai's to court and won, been paid in full.... I have threatened a Thai with legal action and was paid before it could proceed.. The system here works, if you dont let the crazy ThaiVisa norms scare you from trying it out.

PM me your e-mail if you like. ill send you some numbers

Edited June 23, 2013 by Jigger