New tourist court opens in Bangkok

Ministry of Tourism and Sports has collaborated with the Courts of Justice to open a new tourist court in Bangkok in the hope it will make foreign tourists feel more confident to visit Thailand.
The tourism ministry deputy permanent secretary, Kajorn Weerajai, said the ministry and the Courts of Justice had set up three tourist courts in Thailand’s popular tourist destinations; Phuket, Pattaya and Bangkok. The latter uses the Pathumwan Municipal Court.
“The fourth tourist court will open Tuesday at the Dusit Municipal Court… the establishment of a new tourist court in Bangkok should help to make foreign tourists feel more confident.”
Tourist courts aim to cut the trial time for foreign tourists so they can still get justice before they leave the country, he added.
The courts will attempt to fast track settlements mainly compensation in the case of accidents and petty crime. They are not a replacement for the criminal court system that will continue hear serious cases involving tourists, which can take a considerable time before all hearing are concluded.
“The ministry allocates around Bt1 million to set up each tourist courts… others will open in Chiang Mai and Samui Island this year,” Mr Kajorn said.
Despite the claim that the courts will speed up justice, there are still some procedures that must be completed before prosecutors will forward a docket to the court for a hearing.
Victims still need to report a crime to a police station and officers still need to investigate and gather evidence to support a recommendation to prosecutors to forward the case to court.
The courts will benefit visitors who are likely to stay weeks rather than days at a destination. It is unlikely that a visitor would be prepared to cancel a flight home to appear in court.
But the travel industry has welcomed the move if only to build confidence and show that visitors do have recourse when they are a victim of a crime or scram while on holiday.
Airport of Thailand also established special sessions of the district court, designated the Suvarnabhumi branch of Samut Prakan district court to make it convenient for foreign tourists to lodge complaints and attend hearings. It housed in Room CIP 5, 3rd floor of the Passenger Terminal Building.
The court provides convenient access to the judiciary system for foreign tourists and does away with the need for them to travel to the district court in Samut Prakan provincial town which is some distance from the airport.

Sourced: ttrweekly