Bangkok Post, Thailand, To The Point Column.

Byline: Wanchai Yiamsamatha

Nov. 17--Last week, we talked about contracts and, in particular, the importance of drafting. Today we will discuss a special type of contract under Thai laws: an administrative contract as opposed to a (civil) contract.

You might think that a contract with the government must be an administrative contract. But this is not so. Sometimes contracts with government bodies are treated like normal, civil contracts. Sometimes, however, they have this different quality of being "administrative contracts".

This is an important issue, because if it is an administrative contract then any dispute in relation to it would be resolved by an Administrative Court applying different rules and procedures. …