The Embassy must be contacted in advance and participants must arrange for the services of interpreters, translators, and audio and visual operators. (The Embassy of Thailand in the US should be consulted regarding audio and video equipment brought into the country for such hearings.)

Compulsion of Testimony, Documentary or Physical Evidence: If compulsion of evidence is required, a letter rogatory may be necessary. In this process, a foreign Court must issue an order for Letters Rogatory.
In the case of the United States, the US Court would issue an order to the State Department to send the request to the US Embassy in Thailand. The Embassy contacts The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Thailand. The Ministry contacts the Thailand Attorney General's Office, who then proceeds to organize with the court for the service of documents on the witness. The witness is then deposed in a Thai court, by a judge. This process generally takes about one year to complete.

It may be possible however to invoke foreign domestic discovery laws. In certain circumstances there may be laws which a local court may use to compel a witness to appear before a solicitors office.

Also, if the witness is a US citizen or permanent resident alien, a federal subpoena or order to show cause may require a witness to appear before a court in the United States.

Regardless of the method for compelling evidence, the evidence or testimony which will be gathered or taken will be pursuant to the legal procedures of the Thai courts, and a foreign attorney may not be allowed attendance and court reporters may not be present. Local counsel is advisable for arranging such services interpreters, and local legal counsel may attend proceedings to, among other things, present further questions to the witness. (as questioning may be by the judge)

Local authentication of court documents: requires only the signature of the judge and the seal of the court. If the document is from a government office such as the Land Department or Ministry of Commerce, the government officials at the respective Ministry of government office may certify the document. Further certification may usually be obtained at the Embassy of the country where the Court is located. However, Embassies will usually required a certified translation into English or other language prior to certifying.

ENFORCEMENT OF A FOREIGN JUDGEMENT / ARBITRATION AWARD:

Before filing a complaint, serving process, or beginning any legal action in the US or another foreign country that may need to be enforced within Thailand, it is recommended that foreign legal counsel be consulted. This will help to ensure that Thai requirements for enforcement of a foreign judgement are not inadvertently violated.

Generally, foreign civil judgements are not recognized by Thai Courts. However, a foreign civil judgement may be used to establish a prima facie case in Thai Courts. Foreign arbitration awards may be enforced pursuant to certain qualification under the Thailand Arbitration Act.

CRIMINAL MATTERS:

Due to recent emergence of Mutual Legal Assistance treaties (MLATS), such as the US - Thailand Treaty on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, prosecutors in various countries, most notably Western Europe and the United States have an additional method of compelling evidence. The Justice Departments of each country have bi-lateral agreements concerning the issuance of search warrants, the power to summon witnesses, to serve process, and to compel the production of documents. However, these agreements generally are useful primarily to prosecutors, while defense counsel may have stricter requirements for complying with locals laws and procedures. As a practical matter, defense counsel may have to comply with the more cumbersome process of Letters Rogatory.