Journal of Thai Justice System

The Validity of Choice-of-Law Clause in International Contract

Arnon Sriboonroj — 2024-04-30

This academic article aims to generate knowledge and understanding related to the issue of validity of choice-of-law clause, which is of great importance. It does not only effect the law applicable to contract, but may also impact the rights and obligations between the parties. This is a result of the difference of substantive law in each country. However, it is widely recognized that the choice-of-law clause is separated from other parts of the contract, based on the doctrine of severability. Regarding the problem of which law should be applied for the validity of choice-of-law clause, there are still differing opinions among legal scholars, which can be categorized into four approaches: the lex fori approach, the express intent approach, the default law approach and judicial discretion approach. Under Thai’s conflict of laws system, the issue of validity of choice-of-law clause may be unclear because the Conflict of Laws Act B.E. 2481 does not specifically address this matter, and there is no clear precedent in Thai jurisprudence as well. Additionally, there is no explanation relating to the validity of the choice-of-law clause in legal textbooks. Therefore, if the amendment of the Conflict of Laws Act B.E. 2481 occurs in the future, the doctrine of severability should be recognized within Thai’s conflict of laws on the contract system.

The The detection of amphipods in a corpse can preliminarily identify the cause of death for forensic science and investigation benefits

PRAPAIPIT BUADILOK — 2024-04-30

Nowadays, insects and arthropods have become beneficial to forensic science. This also includes crustaceans in the water (river, sea). They can help the entomologist and forensic scientist reconstruct and predict the postmortem interval by studying their characteristics, life cycle, behavior, and habitat. The purpose of this article is to study the importance of amphipods, which are useful for forensic science and the justice system. Amphipods are small freshwater animals known as terrestrial or aquatic predators. There is a paucity of reports on the presence of crustaceans on a dead body after death for a few hours. Based on the autopsy, amphipods were found in the stomach and trachea of a young man's body found in the Chao Phraya River, Pak Kret Police Station service area, Nonthaburi Province. By collecting amphipod samples from the corpse and micro-CT scanning examination, the postmortem interval can be estimated to be accurate to the true value by using the information from the analysis of amphipods. Moreover, the incident and cause of death can be achieved, leading to the advantages of the justice system with the resolution of misinterpretation and postmortem evaluation errors. This article can be considered a consultative tool for investigation officers and forensic pathologists who work on crime scene investigation and autopsy.

2-Dimensional Facial Reconstruction from Skull by Using Photo Editing Software

นันโท ศาสตร์ประสิทธิ์ — 2024-04-30

For the skeleton analysis of unidentified persons, if the body is unable to identify using the collected information of personal identity in comparison with missing person database, including complete skeleton analysis to determine sex, age, ancestry and cause of death, the unidentified human remains will be kept in the evidence room for further examination in the future. While there is no progress in the lawsuit, there is an increasing chance of tracing out the unidentified skeletal remains by using facial reconstruction and publishing the photo of facial reconstruction from skull on various channels for the possibility of public recognition. However, the traditional method of 2-dimensional facial reconstruction requires extensive time and artistic skill. Therefore, there is an idea to apply a photo editing software to reduce the time and increase the ease of work. Also, comparisons between the advantages and limitations of both methods are summarized.

The The importance of evidence preservation for skeletal remains

ศศิศิศ บุญสนธิ — 2024-04-30

This reviewed article aims to point out the importance of evidence preservation for human skeletal remains and to propose working guidelines for agencies with the same type of evidence in their custody to acknowledge the evidence preservation after the identification process. This is to prevent the disappearance, alteration, contamination and other changes that may damage the evidence. Because the skeletal remains are biological evidence, preservation methods are different from other types of evidence. Therefore, the guidelines for suitable and correct working protocol should be implemented by all relevant agencies.

Human Capital and Compensation for Wrongful Death

Sarayut Rueangsuwan — 2024-04-30

The Wrongful Act indicates that the compensation is expected to be a remedy for any damage as if it never happens. However, considering the wrongful death, the compensation cannot normalize such situations. Thai justice court does not accept mental damage, only direct damage with estimated cost can be compensated. Therefore, this research is to explore the literature on legal philosophy and accounting in order to suggest improvements in the Wrongful Act using various analytical approaches and empirical evidence on economics. Based on knowledge of legal economics, the value of human life is one’s rationality and contributions to society. Hence, the compensation should be carefully addressed with these properties to avoid any wrongful action in the future. Likewise,, the compensation for punitive damages should be applied in the context of Thailand.

Prison Standards that Facilitate the Sex Offender Treatment and Rehabilitation to Reduce Recidivism

Arunya Tuicomepee — 2024-04-30

This qualitative study is aimed to examine the perspectives of prison standards facilitating the treatment and rehabilitation of sex offenders. Research participants were one hundred and four people in total, including the executives from the Department of Corrections, experts, academics, and prison officers. In-dept interviews and focus groups were conducted for data collection. Thematic qualitative analysis using Colaizzi’s method was employed to analyze the data. The research findings revealed three main themes. The first theme was the classification standard for sex offenders. The research participants stated that prison officers were the key to effective assessment and classification of sex offenders. Major problems were a lack of qualified staff who specialized in sexual offense classification, insufficient budget, limited space for the operations and legal issues related to the sex offense. The second theme involved the treatment and rehabilitation standards for sex offenders. Participants indicated that effective rehabilitation programs were the assistance for mindset change, increase in self-esteem, promotion of novel learning, and encouragement of family participation. Major problems on the second theme included a lack of specific treatment and rehabilitation programs for sex offenders. The third theme was the standard of social reintegration for sex offenders. The participants mentioned that pre-release rehabilitation programs for sexual offenders emphasized vocational training and family relationship enhancement. Employment, cooperation among community networks, and funding for career development after release were provided. The major problems included a lack of policies or regulations for effective community reintegration. From this study, improvement of prison standards to facilitate positive changes in sex offenders can be achieved. Moreover, safe communities from sexual crimes and prevention of recidivism can be further encouraged.

Rights of Thais with dual nationality. In case of entering Thailand with a foreign passport.

SATAWAT SRIRATANAPONG — 2024-04-30

The objectives of the research were to study the procedures of entering the Kingdom of Thailand for Thais holding dual nationality, including problems and obstacles, and to study the laws, regulations and operation procedures of immigration officers involving the entry into the Kingdom for Thais holding dual nationality. The qualitative research was conducted by using in-depth interviews.

The research revealed that current immigration procedures for entering the Kingdom for Thais holding dual nationality are the same procedures for foreigners, which infringe on the rights of being Thai. It affects the permitted length of stay in the Kingdom and the enforcing regulations, such as notification of residence, 90-days reporting to Thai immigration and prosecution for overstaying the permitted length of stay. These infringing procedures of Thais are the results of misinterpretation of laws and regulations by officers in many government sectors, including immigration, Thai embassies and consulates abroad.

It is recommended that the procedures for the Thais holding dual nationality that do not conflict with regulations and laws pertaining to the rights and freedoms of Thai citizens must be reviewed by the immigration bureau. It is also proposed to amend the law written in the Nationality Act, B.E. 2508 by adding “A Thai national who also holds another nationality, must notify officials regarding such nationality, following a prescribed form and procedure”, in order to establish the regulations of fair treatment for Thais holding dual nationality, and to formally enforce the collection of personal information of citizens holding dual nationality.