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Abstract :

The right to rescind a hire-purchase contract of a party thereto is based on

theories and principles of law on contracts which are the principle of autonomy of will,
the principle of freedom of contract, the principle of pacta sunt servanda (agreements

must be kept) and the new concept of the principle of freedom of contract. In
determining whether the owner and the hire-purchaser lawfully rescind the contract, not

only of Sections 572 to 574 of the Civil and Commercial Code being the specific

provisions of law on hire-purchase, but also the general provisions of law on contract
under Sections 386 to 394 the Civil and Commercial Code must be taken into

consideration. Later, the Consumer Protection Act B.E. 2522 as amended by the
Consumer Protection Act (No. 2) B.E. 2541 was enacted for the purpose of consumer

protection. The said law stipulated that the businesses of hire-purchase of cars and

motorcycles are contract-controlled businesses. In addition, the Notification of the
Contract Committee Re: Designation of Businesses of Hire – Purchase of Cars and

Motorcycles to be Contract-controlled Businesses B.E. 2543 was issued. Clause 4 of the

said Notification stipulates provisions in relation to recission of hire-purchase contract,
which are different from the provision of Section 574, paragraph 1 of the Civil and

Commercial Code. This requires the hire-purchase contracts between business operators
and consumers to contain the provisions of contract under the said Notification, and the

said provision is deemed to be the provision of contract relating to the public order and

good morals. In this connection, the Supreme Court adopted interpretation that the
owners are required to comply with the provisions of the contract fully and strictly in

such a manner that is in consistence with the spirit of the Notification which aims for
rendering protection to the consumers, and that exception or renunciation of any of the

rights under the provisions of the contract cannot be made. The said interpretation

caused, in certain situations, enforcement of the provisions of the contracts to be
problematic, and, as a result, hire-purchase contracts were not rescinded based on the

provisions of the contracts, but the parties thereto were deemed to voluntarily rescind

the contracts implicitly. Such rescission prevented the owner from pursuing claims for the
shortfall of the price.