First Tourist Court opens in Pattaya Thursday
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Thailand's first tourist court opened in Chon Buri's Pattaya City on Thursday, as part of a move to reassure travellers of their safety while visiting the country.
From 4.30pm to 8.30pm, foreign visitors could file civil and criminal complaints at this specialised court, so the cases would be tried faster that in an ordinary court hence a verdict could be delivered before the plaintiffs leave the country.
Consideration of cases will be cut to one day for uncomplicated disputes from the usual six months, while consideration of felony cases could be cut to weeks instead of months.
With officials capable of speaking foreign languages to help out, the specialised court would encourage negotiations between parties - mostly for cases about consumer protection, whilst the serious issue would be transferred to the regular court.
Six more tourist courts would open later at tourist destinations with various problems, especially cheating by operators including one in Bangkok's Dusit District covering the Khao San Road area and another in Pathumwan District covering Patpong and Silom areas. Other such courts would be opened in Krabi, Samui, Chiang Mai and Phuket.
