Bangkok, May 10 (IANS): At least 163,620 court cases have been postponed in Thailand due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Justice said in a report.
Sarawut Benjakul, secretary-general of the Ministry's Office of the Judiciary, said on Saturday that the Judicial Administration Commission had ordered all courts of first instance to postpone all trials scheduled between March 24 and May 31.
The commission also advised all courts to work out negotiations and compromises of online, instead of appearing in court.
The order however spared some cases that may deem harmful to parties in dispute.
Sarawut said that in order to avoid crowding, the commission advised courts to schedule trials starting from June outside official work hours or on holidays to clear the backlog.
Thailand has so far reported 3,004 COVID-19 cases, with 56 deaths.