The procedures for considering applications for recognition and enforcement in Vietnam of civil judgments and decisions of foreign courts play a significant role in both international legal frameworks and Vietnamese law specifically. These procedures not only demonstrate respect for foreign civil judgments and decisions but also ensure the legal rights of the individuals and organizations involved. Therefore, implementing these procedures requires agencies to have a deep understanding of Vietnamese laws and the international treaties to which Vietnam is a party. Vietnamese law outlines the procedural order from Articles 432 to 443 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015 (“CPC 2015”) as follows:
1. Submission of the Application to the Competent Authority
Unless prevented by force majeure or an objective impediment, within three years from the date the foreign civil judgment or decision becomes legally effective, the enforced party, or those with legitimate rights and interests, or their legal representative, may apply to either the Ministry of Justice of Vietnam as per the international treaty provisions to which Vietnam and the issuing foreign court’s country are signatories or to a competent Vietnamese court.
The application for recognition and enforcement includes the request form and accompanying documents. If Vietnam and the country of the foreign court issuing the judgment or decision are signatories to an international treaty concerning this matter, the accompanying documents must comply with the treaty provisions. If not signatories, the documents must adhere to the provisions of Article 434(1) of the CPC 2015. If the application documents are in a foreign language, the requester must provide a legally notarized Vietnamese translation.
2. Transfer of the Application to the Competent Court
If the Ministry of Justice is the receiving body, it must, within five working days from the receipt of the application documents, transfer them to the competent court for resolution.
3. Resolution Process by the Vietnamese Court
a) Step 1: Case Acceptance
Within five working days of receiving the application from the Ministry of Justice or directly from the requester, the court must review, admit, and notify the relevant Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Justice, the requester, and the obligated party or their legal representative in Vietnam. Depending on the circumstances, the judge may either: i) Request the requester to amend or supplement the application; ii) Return the application to the requester; or iii) Proceed with the application upon fulfillment of the fee requirements.
b) Step 2: Preparation for Reviewing the Application
The maximum preparation period for reviewing the application is six months from the date of case acceptance. During this period, the court may request clarifications from the enforcing party about unclear aspects of the application and the foreign court’s judgment or decision. Depending on the situation, the court may issue one of the following decisions:
(i) Temporary suspension of the review of the application as per Article 437(4) of the CPC 2015.
(ii) Termination of the review of the application as per Article 437(5) of the CPC 2015.
(iii) Conducting the hearing to review the application as per Article 438 of the CPC 2015.
c) Step 3: Conducting the hearing
The court must hold a hearing within one month from the date of issuing the decision to conduct the hearing. The adjudicating panel includes three judges, with the presence of the prosecutor from the same-level Prosecutor’s Office, the enforcing party, the obligated party, or their legal representative. If the prosecutor is absent, the hearing still proceeds. In the event that the enforcing party, the obligated party, or their legal representative is absent for the first time, the hearing must be postponed; however, the hearing will still proceed if these individuals have submitted a request for the court to conduct the hearing in their absence, or if the obligated party or their legal representative has been legally summoned for a second time but remains absent. The panel issues a decision to terminate the review of the application if the enforced party or their legal representative has been duly summoned for a second time but remains absent, or if one of the grounds specified in Clause 5 of Article 437 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015 is met.
The panel does not retry the case but merely examines and compares the foreign court’s civil judgment or decision and the accompanying documents against the provisions of Vietnamese law and international treaties that Vietnam has joined, to base its decision on whether to recognize and enforce or not recognize the foreign judgment or decision.
After reviewing the application, hearing the opinions of those summoned, and deliberating, the panel decides by a majority. The panel has the authority to issue a decision to recognize and enforce in Vietnam or to decide against recognizing the foreign civil judgment or decision. Cases where foreign civil judgments or decisions are not recognized and enforced in Vietnam are regulated under Article 439 of the CPC 2015.
We hope this article, “Procedures for considering applications for recognition and enforcement in Vietnam of civil judgments and decisions of foreign courts”, will be useful to you.
Sincerely,
