Prince to pay for his jet's release
Govt vows to end row with Walter Bau soon
His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn has promised to pay from his own pocket to secure the release of his private jet impounded in Germany as a result of a commercial dispute between the Thai government and German contractor Walter Bau AG.
A statement released by the Office of HRH the Crown Prince's private secretary said the Crown Prince wanted to ensure that the dispute does not affect bilateral relations between Thailand and Germany and that the dispute comes to an end quickly.
His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, on behalf of His Majesty the King, gives a speech while presiding over the opening of the House of Representatives at the Ananda Samakhom Throne Hall in Bangkok Monday. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ROYAL HOUSEHOLD BUREAUThe statement said the Crown Prince had nothing to do with the dispute between the government and the company, although the repercussions stemming from the dispute had caused him consternation and had affected his ability to attend royal engagements.
According to the statement, the Crown Prince said he respected the German court's ruling on the matter and had confidence in Germany's justice system.
The Crown Prince, who presided over the opening session of parliament yesterday, has had good relations with the German government and the German people while he has carried out his engagements during his stay there. He has received a lot of help from the German government as well, the statement said.
Walter Bau has demanded the government pay 36 million euros (1.55 billion baht) in compensation for allegedly failing to honour a contract agreement to build the Don Muang Tollway.
The German firm was a member of a consortium which built the tollway in the 1980s.
Because of repeated intervention by the government over contractual conditions for the investment, the consortium was not able to run the project profitably.
The company sought damages and on July 1, 2009 an arbitration tribunal in Geneva ruled that Thailand should compensate Walter Bau for the sum of 36 million euros.
After Thailand refused to pay up, Walter Bau brought the matter before the US District Court in New York on March 26 last year and the court later ruled in favour of Walter Bau.
Concurrently, Walter Bau filed a claim with the German Civil Court seeking enforcement of the arbitration decision and insolvency officials seized the Boeing 737 on July 11.
A court in the city of Landshut on July 20 ruled the jet could be released upon payment of a 20 million euro (846 million baht) deposit, an offer rejected by the Thai government, which maintains the jet is the personal property of the Crown Prince and not the government.
Ampon Kitti-ampon, the cabinet's secretary-general, yesterday said that the cabinet would act on the recommendations of the Crown Prince and would take measures to end the dispute between the government and Walter Bau AG quickly.
Mr Ampon stressed that this was a dispute between the government and Walter Bau AG and that impounding of the jet had offended the Crown Prince.
Mr Ampon said the cabinet had decided that measures would also be taken to protect assets of overseas Thais, who were not involved in the case, from being impounded.
The case has not been finalised and any further efforts to impound the government's assets could lead to further mistakes, Mr Ampon said.
He said that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva planned to meet with the Crown Prince to provide information on the situation.
Mr Ampon said Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday called on Attorney-General Chulasingh Vasantasingh to explain to the cabinet details of the case.
Mr Chulasingh related the costs of litigation and what the Foreign Ministry had paid out in legal fees.
Mr Ampon said Mr Chulasingh also proposed several ways to end the case quickly, including placing a letter of guarantee as collateral.
Mr Ampon dismissed suggestions that the Thai embassy in Germany would also be impounded as a result of the dispute.
He said that would not be the case because the embassy enjoyed diplomatic immunity.
คำศพท์น่าสนใจ
on be half of ในนามของ/ตัวแทนของ
to secure the release ได้รับการปลดปล่อย
contractor ผู้ร่วมทำสัญญา
a statement ถ้อยแถลง
bilateral relationships ความสัมพันธ์ทั้งสองฝ่าย
involvement ความเกี่ยวข้อง
to tarnish ก่อมลทิน/ก่ความเสื่อมเสีย
the repercussion ผลกระทบ
consternation รุ้สึกอึดอัดใจ
a contract agreement การตกลงทำสัญญา
consortium กลุ่มสถาบันบริษัททำงานข้ามชาติ
an arbitration tribunal คำสั่งศาลอนุญาโตตุลาการชี้ขาด
to rule that ชี้ว่า/ออกคำสั่งว่า
to compensate ชดเชย
refuse to pay up ปฏิเสธที่จะจ่าย
concurrently ในขณะเดียวกัน/พร้อมๆกันนั้น
to file a claim ยื่นฟ้อง
to seek enforcement แสวงหาการใช้บังคับกฎหมาย
recommendation of ข้อเสนอแนะของ
to take the measures ใช้มาตรการ
to impound ยึดทรัพย์
a letter of guarantee as collateral จ.ม.รับรองเป็นใบประกันหนี้
to enjoy diplomatic immunity ได้เอกสิทธิคุ้มครองทางการทูต
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น