On 14 July 2011, Foreign Minster Kasit Piromya gave a press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the case of Walter Bau, a German company, claiming damages from the Thai Government. Gist as follows:
1. The said case is a legal dispute between Walter Bau and the Thai Government. Walter Bau is a claimant seeking damages from the Thai Government in respect of an alleged breach of the Don Muang Tollway contract since 2005 and in accordance with the 2002 Treaty between Thailand and Germany concerning the Encouragement and Reciprocal Protection of Investments. On 1 July 2009, the arbitral tribunal issued an award against Thailand to compensate damages to Walter Bau in the amount of around 30 million Euros plus interest and legal costs of around 2 million Euros.
2. As the United States is party to the 1958 Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the “New York” Convention), Walter Bau brought the matter before the United States District Court, Southern District of New York on 26 March 2010 seeking enforcement of the arbitral award. The Southern District Court of New York ruled in favour of Walter Bau and the Thai Government, through its Office of the Attorney-General, is in the process of appealing the Court’s decision.
3. Concurrently, Walter Bau filed a claim with the German Civil Court seeking enforcement of the arbitral award. On 11 July 2011, the German court ordered the seizure of the assets of the Thai Government without seeking information from the Thai side which led to the temporary impounding of the airplane owned by HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, which was parked in Munich Airport, on 12 July 2011, under the mistaken belief that the airplane belonged to the Thai Government.
4. The Foreign Minister said that the impounding by the German side was a grave error based on a misunderstanding as the aforementioned airplane was privately owned and not an asset of the Thai Government. Upon being informed of the incident, the Thai side immediately contacted the German authorities through every available channel to provide them with the correct information and evidence about the private ownership of the said airplane. The Thai Embassy in Berlin conveyed the above information to the German Federal Foreign Office, the Foreign Minister has sent a letter to his counterpart to express Thailand’s serious concerns and requesting the German side to immediately revoke the impounding of the said airplane, and he also had a telephone conversation with the State Secretary of the German Federal Foreign Office. Furthermore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs invited the Charg? d'affaires of the German Embassy in Thailand to be briefed on the facts, and a team of Thai legal experts led by the Attorney-General and Deputy Director-General of the Department of Treaties and Legal Affairs has already arrived in Munich. At the same time, the Thai ambassador to Berlin has arranged for a German lawyer to be a legal advisor. Additionally, the Foreign Minister will be traveling to Berlin on the night of 14 July 2011 to meet the German Federal Foreign Office in the afternoon of 15 July 2011, to seek the release of the said airplane as soon as possible.
5. The Foreign Minister emphasized that the incident was a matter between Walter Bau and the Thai Government. The Thai Government respects and has no intention to interfere in the judicial process of Germany as well as understands that resolving the issue may require some time. Be that as it may, the Thai Government hopes that the situation would be rectified as soon as possible.
6. As for the legal case between Walter Bau and the Thai Government, the Office of the Attorney-General, which has been appointed by the Thai Government as the lead agency for the said case, is in the process of appealing the decision of the Southern District Court of New York which will proceed in accordance with the due judicial process.
For further information, please contact the Press Division, Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tel.02-6435170, Fax.02-6435169, E-mail: div0704@mfa.go.th