Impact of the Enforcement of Suretyship Laws under the Amendments to the Civil and Commercial Code No. 20 and No. 21

Abstract

            The Objectives of this research are to compare the principles of the law of suretyship before and after the legal amendment and to study the impact of enforcing such laws. It is a qualitative research study examining the principles of suretyship law as stipulated in the Civil and Commercial Code Book 3, Section 11, before the legal amendments. The amendments include the Additional Amendment to the Civil and Commercial Code Amendment Act (No. 20) B.E. 2557 and the Civil and Commercial Code Amendment Act (No. 21) B.E. 2558. Deep interviews were conducted with a sample group residing in the municipal area of Mueang District, Lampang Province, selected through purposive sampling among individuals affected by the legal amendments, totaling 15 people. The research tool used was interviews.

            The study comparing the law of suretyship before and after the legal amendment found that the amendment has provided greater protection and fairness to surety. This is due to the clarification of details required to be specified in the guaranteed agreement. Several provisions have been introduced to prevent unfair treatment of surety, such as declaring certain agreements void, and requiring creditors to inform surety within 60 days from the date of default. However, upon studying the post-enforcement impact of the law, spanning from its effective date to the present, various practical challenges have emerged. These challenges have affected both surety and creditors, particularly financial institutions and businesses seeking credit from financial institutions for investment purposes. The problems or impacts stem from the ambiguity of the law, leading to differing legal interpretations in practice, including certain legal principles posing obstacles to business sectors. Therefore, the researchers propose amendments to enhance fairness for all parties and to ensure the effectiveness of the enforced suretyship law.