Tilleke & Gibbins has contributed the Thailand chapter to the 2024 edition of Litigation & Dispute Resolution from the Global Legal Insights (GLI) series published by Global Legal Group. This comprehensive guide provides detailed analysis of litigation and dispute resolution laws and regulations across multiple jurisdictions worldwide. Each chapter of the guide offers an in-depth examination of key aspects of litigation and dispute resolution, including: Efficiency and integrity of process Privilege and disclosure Evidence Costs and attorney fees Litigation funding Class actions Interim relief Enforcement of judgments/awards Cross-border litigation International arbitration Mediation and ADR Regulatory investigations The complete Thailand chapter, authored by counsel Michael Ramirez and associate Chayathorn Kruatao, is available as a PDF below. The Thailand chapter—and the full Litigation & Dispute Resolution guide—are also freely available on the GLI website.

With the growing prominence of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) factors, businesses in Vietnam are increasingly recognizing their importance in driving global demand, societal impact, and economic value. A comprehensive acknowledgment of ESG-related legal requirements is critical for investors and companies operating in Vietnam to meet stakeholder expectations and ensure compliance. Our guide provides a basic overview of the rapidly evolving ESG landscape in Vietnam, covering a range of key issues for companies doing business in the country: What is ESG, and what does the ESG legal framework look like in Vietnam? Who needs to follow ESG regulations in Vietnam? What are the benefits of ESG compliance? How can enterprises enhance ESG best practices in Vietnam? Please click on the link below to view the full article.

Thailand has continued to face economic challenges since the COVID-19 pandemic, and some businesses have struggled to survive. One of most important measures that indebted businesses in Thailand can take is to file a business rehabilitation petition with the Bankruptcy Court. The Bankruptcy Act B.E. 2483 (1940) provides “automatic stay” measures to protect the debtors that have entered the business rehabilitation process, and during this time creditors have duties and rights under the Bankruptcy Act as well. Once Thailand’s Bankruptcy Court accepts a rehabilitation petition and issues an order for rehabilitation, the debtor is under this automatic stay protection against actions from the creditor to seek debt repayments, and the creditors are only allowed to pursue their debt repayments by submitting a debt repayment application to the official receiver within one month of publication of the plan preparer’s appointment in the Government Gazette. These are general conditions specified in the Bankruptcy Act. However, there are several practical precautions that are not specified in the Bankruptcy Act but that creditors should take during rehabilitation. Below are several steps creditors need to consider taking at various stages of the rehabilitation process. 1. Appointing a local Thai representative to act on behalf of the creditor in the rehabilitation The rehabilitation process requires much more than just submitting the debt repayment application within the fixed one-month period and then waiting for the result. It also involves contacting, meeting, and discussing with the official receiver, plan preparer, other creditors, or debtor representative to investigate or settle any arguments on the debt. Moreover, the language used in all the processes and documents is usually Thai. In practice, creditors—especially foreign creditors—should authorize a Thai attorney or representative through a valid power of attorney (POA) to represent them during all the rehabilitation proceedings. This includes the investigative

On the afternoon of 19 April 2024, a cramped courtroom at the People’s Court of Hanoi was the setting for the first criminal trial of a case of copyright and related rights infringement in Vietnam, regarding the act of illegal streaming of English Premier League football matches on online platforms. This case is expected to open the door for the criminal prosecution of other cases of copyright and related rights infringement on the internet, an area that has faced numerous difficulties over the past two decades. First criminal case of illegal streaming Vietnamese criminal law has long had provisions in place for criminal handling of copyright infringement crimes, specifically in Article 131 of the 1999 Penal Code. However, more than 20 years after this law took effect, and even though Vietnam enacted the 2015 Penal Code with subsequent amendments, these regulations have remained mainly a law on paper only, and many significant and serious cases causing great frustration for rights holders and society have not been criminally prosecuted. The case in question was initiated by a denunciation of the BestBuyIPTV subscription service by the Football Association Premier League Limited (the “Premier League”) and the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (“ACE”), a coalition of global entertainment companies and film studios dedicated to combating digital piracy and copyright infringement. BestBuyIPTV had illegally streamed Premier League matches and other protected works without authorization of the rights holders. In 2023, after an extensive investigation, the Cybersecurity and High-Tech Crime Prevention Division (PA05) and the Police Department for Investigating Corruption, Smuggling, and Economic Crimes (PC03) of the Hanoi police brought a case for criminal copyright infringement, pursuant to Article 225 of the 2015 Penal Code, against the offender, an individual named Le Hai Nam, consolidating the dossiers for the People’s Procuracy to indict this