Supreme Court to accept True-Dtac lawsuit against NBTC
The Supreme Administrative Court yesterday reversed the decision of the Administrative Court and accepted the lawsuit filed by the Thailand Consumers Council against the telecom watchdog National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) over the merger of two telecom giants.
The case involved withdrawing the resolution of NBTC in the 5th special meeting on October 20, 2022, regarding the merger between True Corporation and Total Access Communication including all related announcements and legal documents, effective retroactively from October 20, 2022.
The Supreme Administrative Court reasoned that as the plaintiff in this case was a registered consumer protection entity under the Civil and Commercial Code, aiming to promote consumer protection rights and the plaintiff is also a user of mobile phone services provided by Dtac TriNet Co Ltd, a subsidiary of Total Access Communication Plc, it had suffered from the actions of both defendants, causing distress, harm, or unavoidable damage.
To redress the distress or damage suffered by the Thailand Consumers Council (TCC), the Supreme Court ordered the withdrawal of NBTC's aforementioned resolution, stating that the TCC had the right to sue under Article 49(1) of the same law.
Although the TCC filed the lawsuit on March 8 of this year, beyond the statutory period for filing lawsuits under Article 49 of the Law Establishing the Administrative Court and Administrative Case Procedures 1999, the Supreme Administrative Court, recognising that telecommunication services are fundamental public services affecting people's lives, allowed the lawsuit to proceed. This decision was based on the limitations of available frequency bands, the substantial investment required for business operations in the telecommunications market, and the limited number of operators. Thus, the case was deemed to be of substantial public interest, allowing the TCC to pursue the lawsuit further.
