On December 21, the Thai parliament deliberated and passed the abolition of criminal liability caused by bounced checks, and violators only need to bear civil liability. It is reported that the Minister of Justice of Thailand had previously proposed to the Cabinet to repeal the 1991 draft law on offences arising from the use of cheques, which has been approved by the Cabinet, and then submitted to the Parliament for deliberation today.
At the meeting, the Minister of Justice explained the core content of the draft, the main purpose of which is to repeal the legal provisions on the use of cheques for transactions. The original bill made it clear that those who broke the law would face criminal liability, in order to restrain those who broke the civil contract even if they did not intend to be corrupt. In addition, the original Act contradicted the ** Policy and Article 77 of the Constitution, which explicitly provided for the imposition of criminal penalties only for serious crimes. Therefore, the original law should be repealed. For those who have already been convicted, the bill also provides for transitional provisions whereby persons involved in such offences will be released after the law comes into force.
Following a debate between the coalition ruling party and the opposition party among parliamentarians, Parliament voted unanimously by 418 votes to 0 to repeal the 1991 Offences Relating to the Use of Cheques.