11. The representative of Thailand said that, with respect to the Chairman's sub question 1, when making decisions regarding the protection of geographical indications, the national agency in Thailand was required to take into account the information mentioned in the Act on Protection of Geographical Indications of 2003 and the Ministerial Regulations of 2004. However, the Thai GI Protection Act and its Ministerial Regulations did not specifically provide sources of information for the national agency to take into account when making such decisions. The competent official could therefore also call upon the applicant or other persons concerned to give a statement or produce additional evidence. In cases where an expert opinion is necessary in the field related to the matter requiring determination, the Registrar had to refer the matter to the experts for consideration. If the authority failed to do so, the applicant could file a complaint to the national agency for administrative measures. If the applicant was not satisfied with the administrative decision, the applicant could further pursue the case by filing a complaint to the administrative court. Under this legislation, the national agency was not required by law to take into account the newly available information. If an interested party or competent official made a request to the Registrar to consider information newly available, then the national agency would consider this information and forward it to the GI Board for a decision on whether or not to correct or revoke the GI legislation.
