The Impact of Accession to the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements on Thai Law and Practice

Abstract

The Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements aims at promoting the validity of exclusive jurisdiction clauses in international civil and commercial contracts as well as facilitating the recognition and enforcement of judgments rendered by the chosen court in all Contracting States to the Convention. To date, Thailand has not yet become a signatory state to the Convention. In this light, Thailand still applies its domestic law and judicial practice to examine the validity of choice of court agreements as well as recognise and enforce foreign judgments; nevertheless, the existing legal regime of Thailand does not set out specific rules governing the relevant issues, which gives rise to the legal uncertainty whether the Thai court would give effect to the forum selection agreement and the judgment pursuant to such an agreement. Thus, the accession of Thailand to the Convention will not only facilitate its court to apply a uniform rule on the aforesaid domains but also create a favorable regulatory environment for foreign enterprises when doing business in Thailand. Accordingly, this paper will conduct an analysis on the legal impact of the Convention on Thailand’s current legal regime and will put forward what matters under the Convention should be declared not to entail binding effects on Thailand in the event that it accedes to the Convention.