4 special things to note when civil litigation in Vietnam

1. What is civil litigation in Vietnam

In Vietnam, civil litigation is a process of dispute settlement relating civil matters between parties. This process is usually initiated by the parties in case they fail to reach a mutual agreement (by method of negotiation) for resolving the dispute.

However, while the negotiation stage is just a method of dispute settlement conducted by the disputing parties, which does not involve participation of the third party as well as not being a compulsory stage for initiating litigation stage, the reconciliation stage with the participation of a competent person or competent authorities is a compulsory process for disputing parties in labour disputes in Vietnam or disputes relating the right of using land to take legal proceedings against the other before the court.

2. Statute of limitations

In civil litigation in Vietnam, in order to bring the case against the other party before the court, the disputing party should take the statute of limitation for the settlement of their dispute into account. Pursuant to the laws of Vietnam, the statute of limitation for dispute settlement is determined according to the types of dispute.

For example, the limitation period for initiating legal action to request a court to resolve a dispute relating to a contract is three years from the date on which the party entitled to request knows or should know that their lawful rights and interests are infringed; or the limitation period with respect to a claim of an heir to the distribution of an estate shall be thirty years regarding immovable property or ten years regarding movable property from the time of commencement of the inheritance.

3. Assurance of oral argument in adjudication

Pursuant to Civil Procedure Code, in civil litigation process, the Courts shall ensure that the involved parties and people protecting legitimate rights and interests of the involved parties receive the right to engage in oral argument in first instance trials, appellate trials, cassation trials and reopening trials.

Regarding the exercise of the right to litigate (oral argument), the involved parties (litigator, defendant, persons with related interests and/or obligations) and the people protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the involved parties may collect and submit the evidence and relevant materials to the Courts since the Courts accepted civil lawsuits and shall notify to each other of the submitted materials and evidence; present, provide questions and answers, express opinions about evidence and present applicable provisions to defend their claims and their legitimate rights and interests or to reject others’ claims.

4. Both parties should provide the court with all necessary evidence to support for the request

In the settlement of civil litigation in Vietnam, the involved parties shall have the right and obligation to initiatively collect and supply evidence to Courts to prove that their petitions are well grounded and lawful.

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