Thai courts decide cases on documents. Whether you win is largely settled before the first hearing, by what you can prove existed at the time.

We start every instruction by fixing the limitation date, because it governs everything else. Thai limitation periods vary by the nature of the claim rather than by the size of the loss, and the period runs from when the right to sue arose, not from when the relationship broke down. Where the date is close we file to stop the clock and negotiate afterwards, rather than negotiating into expiry.

Jurisdiction follows the defendant's domicile or the place of performance, with specialised courts for labour, tax, intellectual property and international trade, bankruptcy and administrative matters. Filing in the wrong forum costs months. A contractual choice of a foreign court or of arbitration also has to be assessed early, because it may take the dispute out of the Thai civil courts entirely.

The evidence audit is where most cases are actually won. Contracts, purchase orders, delivery notes, tax invoices, withholding tax certificates, bank transfer slips and the company's own accounting records carry real weight. Foreign-language documents require certified Thai translation to be received. Correspondence conducted only through messaging applications can be admitted, but its weight depends on authentication, so we secure originals and device evidence early rather than screenshots.

After the complaint is filed and served, the defendant answers and the court holds a settlement and issue-framing hearing. Thai courts actively encourage mediation at this stage and at almost every stage afterwards, and a mediated settlement recorded by the court is enforceable in the same way as a judgment. For a foreign business weighing eighteen months of proceedings against a recoverable sum, that route often produces more money sooner, and we advise on it honestly rather than treating settlement as a failure.

If the case continues, witness hearings are scheduled in blocks. Testimony is given in Thai through a sworn interpreter where necessary, and witness statements are prepared and filed in advance. Judgment normally follows a few weeks after the final hearing. Where a party has assets that may disappear, we consider provisional attachment before judgment — a powerful remedy that requires strong evidence of dissipation risk and usually a security deposit.

Appeals lie to the Court of Appeal and, on limited grounds, to the Supreme Court. Appeal is realistic where the first-instance court misapplied the law or ignored evidence on the record; it is a poor investment where the loss came from an evidential gap, because the appellate courts work from the same file.

A judgment is a right to execute, not a payment. Enforcement runs through the Legal Execution Department: identifying assets, seizing and auctioning property, garnishing bank accounts and receivables, and where the debtor is a company, considering bankruptcy or business rehabilitation proceedings. We therefore ask about the counterparty's assets at the outset, not after judgment, because a claim against an empty company is an expensive way to be proved right.

Foreign judgments are not directly enforceable in Thailand. A judgment obtained abroad generally has to be re-litigated here, with the foreign decision serving as evidence rather than as an order. Arbitral awards, by contrast, are recognised and enforced under the New York Convention, which is a strong argument for a properly drafted arbitration clause in cross-border contracts — something we raise when we review agreements, long before any dispute exists.

Because our office also holds accounting files, asset tracing frequently starts with public financial statements, VAT registration history and shareholding records that we read routinely. That combination has recovered money for clients who had been told the debtor was judgment-proof.