LEGAL CONTROL NOISE POLLUTION GENERATED BY PUBLIC ENTERTRAINMENT PLACES

Abstract

Noise pollution can be prejudicial to health and can cause annoyance which can eventually constitute to legal context of nuisance. It crucially impacts on community areas where many activities occur. The important question is that whether the noise is out of ordinary or not.

                  Operating public entertainment places is one of business activities which are popular in recent years. Long term operation of  public entertainment places such as pubs, bars, discotheques, clubs as well as some kind of restaurants is the major source creating noise pollution which affects vicinity, workers and customers of such public entertainment places.  

                  Although, there are various laws relating to the control of noise pollution in Thailand, the standards issued under such laws are insufficient, inappropriate, lack of harmonization among responsible organizations and lack of guidelines for local officials to exercise their powers and use discretion effectively.           

                  This article aims to study governing laws themselves, their loopholes and functions of local official powers. Analyze and compare to foreign countries namely; United Kingdom and Hong Kong. In sum, the thesis proposes that, two major recommendations should be introduced. First, governing laws themselves should be amended. Some inappropriate standards of noise pollution control should be adjusted. Second, the functions of exercising powers by responsible authority should be amended by promoting the coordination among responsible authorities and setting forth standard guidelines for local officers’ adoptions in order to handle with noise pollution generated by public entertainment places.