The law on class action that has recently been incorporated into the Civil Procedure Code is a brand new concept in the Thai legal system. The class action tool has been put in place in order to facilitate the enforcement of rights by the injured persons whose stake may not be high enough to afford litigations on their own. It also gives the courts a tool to administer justice, so that judicial resources will be spent and allocated more efficiently without any undue waste arising from repetitive proceedings on the same matter.
Among various proceedings to be carried out a class action, class certification may be one of the paramount proceedings that courts must consider and handle with care. Before a class certification can be granted, the courts must be satisfied, in accordance with the provision of the Civil Procedure Code, that (a) the rights of class members that form the basis of the litigation are of the same nature because they arise from the same set of facts and legal principles, (b) the plaintiff has the required qualification to be a class member, because the plaintiff's case is of the same nature as those of class member, or it is typical of the cases that may otherwise be filed by a class member in that matter, (c) class members are so numerous that it will be too difficult or burdensome for them to pursue their rights in ordinary proceedings, (d) class action is a more efficient way to carry out the particular litigation, and (e) the plaintiff and his or her lawyer are capable of adequately and fairly protecting the interest of class members.
In order to facilitate the development and the interpretation of the law in this area, it may be necessary to prepare some kind of bench book on this subject, so that courts around the country will have basic resource to consult with, and may be able to consistently administer class proceedings without any undue different of judicial treatment.