Thailand Law Journal 2010 Spring Issue 1 Volume 13

Allowing the consumers establish organization to protect consumers, create awareness buying goods or services from businesses. To support the establishment of private associations, the government should concretely set a detailed plan of its support. The plan should include the amendment of laws and policies for national development. For such awareness, sellers should be more careful than consumers. Besides the support for the establishment of associations and the federation of private consumer protection associations, the government should set explicit regulations, terms and working procedures for associations to be funded, including the grant of rights to donors and financial support: for activities. The associations should be able to use their receipt of financial support to be deducted from personal income tax. The government should act as the director and supporter. rather than the controller or executor The government should make consumers'"' feel that consumer protection is not the direct duty or welfare of the government because this can make people lose interest in creating associations to protect their rights.

C. The public sector should support and provide knowledge to the consumers. At present. government mechanisms in charge of consumer protection include the Consumer Protection Board, the Field Board, the authorities of the Office of the Consumer Protection Board, government officers, and representatives of other government organizations. Even with their field knowledge and skill in their functions, in practice, in terms of problem perception or information relation, these cannot be compared with the experience of the consumers because they percept, get involved with the events and gain and lose from issues. Therefore ,they can take action faster than government authorities without limitation from the rules and regulations of the government, which block the promptness, and bring higher operating cost and expenses. Giving rights to consumers for monitor business entrepreneurs from taking advantage of selling goods and providing services to consumers is the appropriate way. Consumers group or associations are meant to secure and protect consumer rights from business entrepreneurs in a prompt and direct path to consumer needs. Therefore, the government should support consumers to form consumer groups or associations for more systematic and efficient operation.

Major problems of supporting consumers to form consumer protection associations include creating shared concepts for people in terms of consumer rights protection as a duty of all people as consumers regardless consumer protection is welfare or duty of the government only. Therefore, the government must take the role of creating knowledge. understanding, or basic concepts to consumers. The government should support regularly and continuously publicize consumers' rights through the media, and set up seminars or meetings for solving consumer protection problems. The government should also invite people or representatives of consumers to attend and give their opinion. The government can facilitate meeting venues and budget and expenses to people for setting up meetings or activities regarding consumer protection, amend laws or procedures for setting and certifying associations without much expense and allocate budgets to support association activities to suitably comply with government requirements. These create basic concepts that consumer protection is duty of people requiring coordination. After the establishment of organizations or associations for consumer protection. the government should give them rights on proceedings. According to basic concept, people, as consumers, monitor themselves by forming associations with objectives to provide protection for members or ordinary people by giving information, consulting, giving recommendations about consumer protection to the public sector, and bringing complaint against businesses. Giving rights to associations to act as consumer representatives to make complaints to businesses in the case of a violation of consumer 'rights has not been advanced.

To avoid discouraging consumers who might feel overwhelmed by complicated legal process, legal court proceedings should be improved by creating a department for consumer protection cases in the court of justices. The current judgments on consumer issues are decided at district court or civil court of each province. Normally. these courts have many cases, which can affect the time spent on consumer protection issues. One method to facilitate and accelerate the sentence of consumer protection is the enactment of a law to separately create a Consumer Protection Court or Specific Court of Consumer Protection Case with easier judicial procedures, where consumers can file for court proceeding on their own or with assistance.

VII. Conclusion
In theory. there are many ways to protect consumers besides protective and corrective regulations by government organizations. Encouraging consumer to be aware and to protect their rights by creating consumer associations, providing       information services. the price list of quality products and the fairest prices. and safety for consumption are ways for better consumer protection. In the U.S., awareness on consumer protection is raised at every level from consumers. manufacturers. the government. and many organizations in charge of consumer protection. The Thai consumer protection system is deficient and lack proper remedy because laws, including laws necessity like food, medicine. clothing, and residence or laws on services like finance, banking, insurance, and private hospitals, focus on protection against damage incurred from goods and services. For these laws, consumer rights to complain against damages from these goods and services have not been provided. The basic concept and method of law enforcement are strictly based on the government's duty as protector and regulator of safety. In case of any problems incurred from consumption. the plaintiffs can exercise their rights to claim for compensation under general laws like the Civil and Commercial Laws and Civil Procedure Laws. The invalidity of consumer protection in terms of lawsuits has been chronically problematic.

In Thailand, laws or consumer protection acts on consumer protection do not exist for electronic transactions. Even, the Electronic Transactions Act regulating contractual transactions does not cover every issue of electronic transactions. The enforcement of the Unfair Contract Terms Act of 1997 is only a part of an effort to solve problems of normal exploitation of contract. Consumers face problems of exploitation by businesses on electronic transactions, in terms of transfer of ownership or rights to consume goods or services to connect with electronics used for communication. Existing laws like the Consumer Protection Act of 1979 and the Consumer Protection Act of 1998 do not sufficiently protect consumers lectronic transactions.