Phuket Tourist Court to open late this month

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Phuket Tourist Court to open late this month
Phuket Gazette


Tourism and Sports Minister Somsak Pureesrisak (center) opens the tourist court in Pattaya earlier this month. Phuket’s tourist court is to open by the end of the month. Photo: Ministry of Tourism and Sports

PHUKET: -- The Phuket Tourist Court will open late this month, while another five such courts will open across the country before year’s end, Court of Justice spokesman Sitthisak Wanachakij has announced.

The specialized court, set up to expedite cases involving foreign holiday-makers – about 20 million tourists visit Thailand every year – will encourage negotiations between parties and will video technology to hear witness testimonies from other provinces, Mr Sitthisak said.

The Phuket Tourist Court will be one of seven such courts established in major tourist destinations in the country.

On September 5, The Pattaya Tourist Court opened; other tourist courts are to be in Phuket, Samui, Chiang Mai, Krabi and Bangkok. One of the two tourist courts in Bankok will be in Dusit District, covering Wat Phra Kaew and Khao San Road areas. The other will be in Pathumwan District, covering Siam Square, Patpong and Silom.

The seven courts were all to initially open on September 5, but due to lack of preparedness, only the tourist court in Pattaya has been launched so far, Mr Sitthisak said.

The criteria for judge selection stresses negotiation and language skills. The Tourism and Sports Ministry will help improve manpower by sending judges to study tourist law in France (story here), Mr Sitthisak said.

Mr Sitthisak explained that each tourist court, formally called the “Tourist Protections Section” under the local regional Administrative Court, required a budget of only 1.5 million baht a year, in addition to personnel and facility renovation costs.

The Tourist Protections Section would be upgraded to a “division” in time for the upcoming formalization of the Asean Economic Community, Mr Sitthisak said.

The news that Phuket’s Tourist Court will open within the coming weeks follows the tourist court in Pattaya recently resolving its first case, which involved a speedboat accident that killed two Chinese tourists on August 28.

Provincial Pattaya Court Chief Judge Apichat Thepnoo said the court called in the speedboat owner and the insurance company to attend a dispute settlement procedure along with the plaintiffs, who spoke through a translator.

The deceased tourists’ families initially had asked for a total of 16mn baht in compensation.

At the second round of talks on September 6, both parties agreed that the insurance company would pay 1.3mn baht to each victim’s family, while the speedboat owner would pay 1mn baht to each victim’s family, he said.

The families accepted the compensation and said they would not sue for further compensation.

However, the criminal charges related to the case are to be heard separately from the compensation claim, and will proceed according to usual criminal trial procedure.

The Pattaya tourist court operates from 8:30am to 8:30pm on weekdays, and 8:30am to 4:30pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Tourist courts in other areas, including Phuket, might operate on different days and times depending on each area’s number of tourist-related cases, Mr Sitthisak said.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2013/Phuket-Tourist-Court-to-open-late-this-month-22255.html


-- Phuket Gazette 2013-09-16

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Phuket Tourist Court to open next Tuesday
Phuket Gazette

PHUKET: -- Phuket's Tourist Court is set to open on September 24 with a budget of 1.5 million baht.

Phuket's tourist court is the second such court to open in Thailand; the first opened in Pattaya on September 5.

Five more courts will open across the country by year's end, said Sitthisak Wanachakij, spokesman for the Court of Justice.

The opening of Phuket's court was delayed to allow for a group of officials to conduct a two-week fact-finding trip to France (story here). The group is due back on September 19.

The first case heard in Pattaya concerned a speedboat accident that resulted in the death of two Chinese tourists (story here). Phuket's first case has yet to be determined, said Wanna Suetortrakul, Director of Administration at Phuket Provincial Court.

Mr Sitthisak explained that each tourist court would formally be called “Tourist Protections Section” under the local regional Administrative Court.

“The Tourist Protections Section will be upgraded to a “division” in time for the upcoming formalization of the Asean Economic Community,” Mr Sitthisak said.

The goal of the special courts is to provide advice and information, as well as to expedite the settlement of cases for tourists because they are in Thailand for only a short time, said Tourism and Sports Minister Somsak Pureesrisak.

The courts are part of a campaign aimed at helping tourists feel safe in Thailand, in order to facilitate reaching a target of 2.2 trillion baht from tourism this year.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2013/Phuket-Tourist-Court-to-open-next-Tuesday-22265.html


-- Phuket Gazette 2013-09-17

[chooka]

Are they back from France already?

[chooka]

"insurance company would pay 1.3mn baht to each victim’s family, while the speedboat owner would pay 1mn baht to each victim’s family, he said.

What an absolute joke and a way to spit in the face of tourists, this is totally disgusting and an insult. This court is bullshite and clearly shows it is in favour of Thais. For crying out loud you get compensated 10 times more than that if you lose a finger in Australia. Show what value they put on a farang life, the family of the copper run down by the Redbull guy got far more than that drop in the ocean.

The court is making Thailand look like idiots.