THAILAND’S first tourist court opens today in popular tourist destination Pattaya, where visitors will be able to lodge complaints and seek hasty resolutions for unfair services and security concerns.
According to Thai news agency The Nation, the court is expected to deal mostly with consumer protection cases while serious cases will be passed along to Thailand’s regular courts.
Tourists can register their grievances within the operating hours from 16.30 to 20.30. Officials conversant in foreign languages will also be present to render assistance.
Wirat Chinwinigkul, secretary general of the Judiciary, was quoted as saying that the tourist court would encourage parties to solve disputes through negotiation so that cases can be solved in a day instead of the usual six months taken in regular courts.
Pattaya’s tourist court will tackle the issue of speedboat services that has tarnished the country’s reputation, said the news report. It would also scrutinise the role of tourism operators in providing fair service.
Six more night courts are currently planned, with one each in Krabi, Samui, Chiang Mai, Phuket, and Bangkok’s Pathum Wan district in Silom and Dusit district in Khao San.
