Lawmaker Pushes Joint Panel To Fix Bankruptcy Law

On July 2, 2025, Pol. Gen. Tawee Sodsong, former Justice Minister and Pheu Thai party leader, addressed parliament to propose establishing a joint parliamentary committee between the House of Representatives and Senate to review and amend the Bankruptcy Bill. He expressed concern that without careful deliberation, the law could become ineffective and unable to serve its intended purpose.

Tawee highlighted that this legislation represents a historic foundation for addressing Thailand's systemic debt problems, having undergone 23 detailed committee reviews in the House. The law's key benefit is enabling ordinary individuals with debts between 100,000 and 50 million baht, as well as SMEs, to enter debt rehabilitation processes and receive automatic payment suspension—allowing citizens to overcome debt independently without burdening the state budget.

However, Tawee raised concerns about two critical Senate amendments that could create major practical obstacles:

1. "Steady income" requirement: The Senate added a requirement that debtors must have stable income, which Tawee argues lacks clear definition and would exclude seasonal agricultural workers and low-income earners with irregular income. He warned this could make the law subject to inconsistent interpretation and repeat the failure of the 2016 SME law that proved unworkable.

2. Civil servant penalties: The Senate maintains that civil servants who fail debt rehabilitation must resign. Tawee countered that this contradicts the law's intent and multiple Cabinet resolutions stating that debt is a universal problem unrelated to wrongdoing and should not result in job loss.

"We need a balanced law serving both creditors and debtors," Tawee said. "To ensure careful consideration and prevent the law's essence from being distorted, I propose we establish a joint committee to address these issues and truly benefit the public."