Tag: Litigation

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Employment Termination: Navigating Confidentiality Breaches and Fair Practices

The Supreme Court, Decision No. 7189/2562, ruling in a high-profile labor case has shed a spotlight on the intricate interplay between employee confidentiality obligations and fair employment termination practices. The case involved an offshore petroleum company that terminated the employment of a training instructor after allegations of disclosing confidential company information. This decision offers valuable insights and lessons for both employers and employees alike.

Confidentiality Obligations: A Sacrosanct Duty

The court’s ruling reinforced the fundamental principle that employees have a sacrosanct duty to protect their employer’s confidential information and trade secrets. Unauthorized disclosure or mishandling of such sensitive data can constitute grounds for disciplinary action, including termination of employment. This obligation extends beyond the employee’s tenure with the company, underscoring the enduring nature of confidentiality responsibilities.

Defining Confidential Information: A Contextual Approach

The court adopted a contextual approach in defining what constitutes confidential information in this case. It scrutinized the nature of the information disclosed by the plaintiff-employee, specifically the audit reports from a third-party training organization. The court determined that these reports contained sensitive data pertaining to the defendant-company’s operations, training standards, and were protected by a non-disclosure agreement between the company and the third-party organization.

Notably, the agreement between the employer-defendant and the employee-plaintiff explicitly stipulated confidentiality obligations, whereby the plaintiff agreed to safeguard the defendant’s information and data. This agreement underscored the paramount importance the defendant placed on protecting and preserving information related to its business operations.

However, the plaintiff’s submission of the document containing the defendant’s organizational and managerial information, aimed at ensuring the defendant’s training and assessment standards, to the plaintiff’s personal email account raised significant concerns. This action facilitated the potential unauthorized transmission or removal of such information without the defendant’s ability to monitor or track its dissemination.

Consequently, the court viewed the plaintiff’s actions as a breach of duty, constituting dishonest conduct and an unauthorized disclosure of the defendant’s confidential information. This intentional act was deemed to have caused harm to the employer and amounted to a violation of disciplinary regulations governing workplace behavior.

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Fair Termination Practices: Striking the Right Balance

While acknowledging the employer’s right to terminate employment for breaches of confidentiality, the court emphasized the importance of following fair termination procedures. This includes providing proper notice, adhering to labor laws, and ensuring that the termination is not considered unfair, retaliatory, or discriminatory. The court’s decision serves as a reminder that even in cases of confidentiality breaches, employers must exercise due diligence and uphold principles of fairness and equity.

Burden of Proof: A Stringent Standard

In cases of employment termination, the court placed a stringent burden of proof on the employer to demonstrate that the termination was justified and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. The employer must provide clear and convincing evidence to substantiate the grounds for termination, particularly in cases involving confidentiality breaches, where the consequences for the employee can be severe.

Balancing Interests: A Delicate Equilibrium

The court’s ruling highlights the need to strike a delicate balance between the employer’s legitimate interest in protecting confidential information and trade secrets, and the employee’s right to fair treatment and due process during termination proceedings. This equilibrium ensures that both parties’ interests are safeguarded and that employment relationships are governed by principles of fairness, transparency, and mutual respect.

Confidentiality Policies and Procedures: A Proactive Approach

The court’s decision underscores the importance of employers implementing robust confidentiality policies and procedures. Clear guidelines, training programs, and well-defined consequences for breaches can help prevent confidentiality issues from arising in the first place. Additionally, ensuring that employees understand and acknowledge these policies can strengthen the employer’s position in the event of a dispute.

Employee Responsibilities: Upholding Trust and Integrity

For employees, this case serves as a reminder of the gravity of their confidentiality obligations and the potential consequences of breaching such trust. Employees must exercise utmost care in handling sensitive information and refrain from any unauthorized disclosure or misuse. Maintaining professional integrity and upholding the confidentiality of employer information is not only a legal obligation but also a ethical responsibility.

The Supreme Court’s ruling in this case has far-reaching implications for both employers and employees. It underscores the significance of maintaining confidentiality in the workplace and the potential consequences of breaching such obligations. At the same time, it emphasizes the importance of fair employment practices, adherence to labor laws, and the need for employers to provide due process and proper justification when terminating employees.

As the business landscape evolves, with an increasing emphasis on data protection and trade secret preservation, this ruling serves as a timely reminder for all parties to exercise caution in handling confidential information and to understand their respective rights and responsibilities in the employment relationship. By fostering a culture of trust, transparency, and mutual respect, employers and employees can create a harmonious and legally compliant work environment, where both parties’ interests are protected, and the sanctity of confidentiality is upheld.

Author: Panisa Suwanmatajarn, Managing Partner.

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Streamlining Procedures on CIPITC Court Cases

Due to the rapid changes in technologies and the necessity for the legal justice system to keep up with the continuous changes, the Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court (“CIPITC”) issued an updated version of the old Rules on Intellectual Property and International Trade Cases B.E. 2540 (1997) by merging the announcements and/or regulations into an integral part of these provisions.   Essentially, the Rules on Intellectual Property and International Trade Cases B.E. 2566 (2023) (“Rules”) amended the way in which the CIPITC usually proceeds, or how evidence hearing is usually conducted. The Rules now make it clear that the parties can file a complaint, motion, answer, or other pleadings or submit related documents to the court via electronic means. The court may proceed with the hearing wholly or partially by electronic means.   The following is sample of the changes that affect the CIPITC proceedings making them convenient to the parties in dispute.  

Amendment to the Procedures  

Previously, the CIPITC has no authority to suggest alternative hearing methods. It was largely dependent on an agreement by the parties in dispute. The new Rules allow the CIPITC to propose alternative hearing methods, including methods of communication, submission, delivery, and receiving of testimony, which will smooth out advancing the trial. The delivery of documents, summons notice, copies of the complaint, or other court orders, whether to the parties or any third person may be done via electronic mail. For e-mail or other electronic means, the CIPITC would have deemed that such communications or copies of documents are valid once 15 days have passed from the date that such documents and/or information have been delivered.   In a case where the defendant’s domicile is not in the Kingdom of Thailand, the delivery of summon notice and/or copy of the complaint shall be of the same method as the defendant has used in business operation or communication with the party involved in the dispute or has declared it to a government agency, however, the CIPITC would regard such summon notice and/or copy of complaint valid after 30 days passed from the date of such documents and/or information have been delivered. This email address should be used in the defendant’s business operations or has been used in communication with the other party regarding the dispute.   Another important development under the Rules is in regard to the evidence for hearing proceedings. Should any parties wish to refer to electronic evidence, such evidence must be recorded in the records of witness testimony. The recording of witness testimony in electronic form can now be used as is, without having to be transcribed into written testimony as it was done in the past. Witness statements in the past were written in the wording summarizing it from verbal statements given by witnesses.  

Acceptance of Foreign Language Documents 

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The current policy requires most documents in a foreign language to be translated into Thai, but there are exceptions. If the parties agree and the documents are not crucial to the case and are in English, the CIPITC may allow submission without translation. However, the new Rules expand upon this allowance. CIPICT can now permit the submission of documents in any foreign language without Thai translation or with partial translation if both parties agree and the untranslated portions are not crucial. Additionally, the CIPITC can directly examine international regulations, treaties, or guidelines in a foreign language without solely relying on submitted translations. The new Rules enable the consideration of international treaties if Thailand is a contracting party, even without Thai translations. However, it is less clear whether the CIPITC can consider treaties not being raised by the parties, in accordance with international principles and practices.  

Foreign Witness may Submit Written Statement Instead

If a party or all parties have requested and the CIPITC deems it appropriate for the benefit of justice, the CIPITC may allow the submission of the testimony of a witness who resides outside the country to be presented to the court. The witness does not have to appear before the court as a witness. However, the testimony must follow the guidelines specified or the law of the country where the testimony is made.   Obviously, the new Rules will give CIPICT more flexibility and transparency in conducting proceedings, resulting in streamlined court procedures and decreased time and expenses for the parties involved.  

Author: Panisa Suwanmatajarn, Managing Partner.

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Thailand – Justice for the Crowd as Class Action  

A class action is a type of lawsuit in which behalf of parties or the group, the plaintiffs, as the plaintiffs can sue a defendant in a single proceeding, but the result could affect the whole of the plaintiffs. This legal mechanism allows individuals with similar claims against a common defendant to join together and pursue their claims as a group rather than as individuals. Class actions are typically used when it would be impractical or unfeasible for every member of the group to file a separate lawsuit. Class actions can provide benefits such as efficiency, consistency, and reduced costs for the plaintiffs, as well as a way for companies and organizations to be held accountable for their actions. This type of lawsuit is originally from the United States. However, several civil law countries commonly use this process for bringing justice to a huge group.

businesspeople talking

Thailand also has a class action procedure that is similar to the one in the United States. According to the Civil Procedure Code B.E. 2477 (1934), as amended by the Act Amending the Civil Procedure Code (No.28), B.E. 2558 (2015), the process of the class action must be initiated with a request to the court by one of the plaintiffs, along with prosecution for the beginning of a case. The court will then consider the class action request based on several criteria, including the similarity in nature amongst the group, the difficulty and inconvenience of litigating separately due to the large number of members, and if the class action will be more efficient and fairer than the common litigation.

After the court approves the class action request, the plaintiff is required to pay court fees and expenses for class action to the court within seven days of the rendered order date. If the plaintiff fails to do so, the court reserves the right to cancel the class action and proceed with common litigation instead.

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Class action is typically used in cases where there are a large number of victims, such as consumer or environmental cases. For example, around 3,000 Cambodian villagers initiated a class action lawsuit against a sugar finery company for damage caused when the defendant’s agent entered the land concessions. Witness hearings for this case would have taken a long time due to the large number of victims, which is why class action was the preferred approach.

In conclusion, class action lawsuits are more efficient, fairer, and easier for cases that demand a remedy for several people through a single legal action. It also gives more bargaining power to the plaintiffs and takes less time than common litigation, especially if it involves a large number of people.  

Author: Panisa Suwanmatajarn, Managing Partner.

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