Paper Title
Defamation Litigation to Stop Participation in Public Issues, A Case Study: Thai Law Compared to California Law

Abstract
The research on defamation litigation to stop a participation in public issues has the objective to find ways to sue for defamation in order to stop participation in public issues by comparing with California case, United States, and it is to revise the legal structure to prevent defamation litigation to stop participation in public issues by using qualitative research methods and data analysis by using content analysis. The results of the study can be classified as follows: (1) When analyzing the guidelines for prosecution to stop a participation in public affairs in California State, it was found that California has a law to stop prosecution in order to stop participation in public affairs, and it does not prohibit the plaintiff to file a lawsuit to stop participation in public affairs. However, the law has set special standards to maintain public interest by opening a channel to ask the defendant to request the termination of the case quickly, and it is determined that it is the burden of the plaintiff to pay expenses and lawyer fees to the defendant, (2) In Thailand, there is no law requiring special standards to restrain the prosecution in order to stop participation in public issues. The researcher has seen that, in the use of freedom of expression, the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand provides protection, so people are able to express their opinions to protect the public interest if it is within the limits. On the other hand, the current laws may not be sufficient or may not cover protection in expressing opinions on public issues as it should be, if it is an honest opinion to protect the public interest, or matters about having a stake from a public action as it is deemed appropriate. Keyword - Defamation Cases, Public Figures, Public Issues