The procedure for requesting the annulment of an arbitral award in Vietnam is initiated when the disputing party has grounds to demonstrate that the arbitral award contravenes legal provisions and requests to annul the arbitration award to protect their lawful rights and interests. The following provides a detailed guide to the procedure for requesting the annulment of an arbitral award in Vietnam under current legal regulations.
1. Grounds for Requesting the Annulment of an Arbitral Award in Vietnam
An arbitral award is final and is binding upon the disputing parties. However, under Article 68 of the Law on Commercial Arbitration 2010, an arbitral award may be annulled under specific circumstances. Accordingly, before requesting the competent court for the annulment of an arbitral award, the requesting party must verify that the arbitral award meets at least one of the following grounds:
• Absence or invalidity of an arbitration agreement;
• The composition of the Arbitral Tribunal or the arbitral proceedings does not conform to the parties’ agreement or violate the provisions of the Law on Commercial Arbitration;
• The dispute falls beyond the jurisdiction of the Arbitral Tribunal;
• Evidence provided by the parties upon which the Arbitral Tribunal based its award is falsified; the arbitrator receives money, assets, or other material benefits from a disputing party, thereby compromising the objectivity and impartiality of the arbitral award;
• The award contravenes the fundamental principles of Vietnamese law.
2. Procedure for Requesting the Annulment of an Arbitral Award in Vietnam
2.1. Filing a Petition for the Annulment of an Arbitral Award in Vietnam
Under Article 69 of the Law on Commercial Arbitration 2010, when there are grounds to assert the necessity for annulment of an arbitral award, a disputing party must submit a petition for the cancellation of the arbitral award to the competent court. When filing this petition, the requesting party should consider the following issues:
(i) Jurisdiction of the court: The jurisdiction court to review a request for annulment of an arbitral award is the Provincial Peoples Court where the Arbitral Tribunal rendered the award.
(ii) Time Limit for Filing:
• If there are sufficient grounds to prove that the Arbitral Tribunal rendered an award falling within the grounds for annulment prescribed by law, the time limit for the requesting party to file the petition for annulment of the arbitral award is 30 days from the date of receipt of the arbitral award.
• Compliance with this time limit is mandatory, save for instances of force majeure. However, the party requesting annulment must prove both the force majeure circumstances and why these circumstances prevented them from filing the petition within the prescribed time limit.
(iii) Content Required in a Petition for Annulment of an Arbitral Award:
This petition must contain the following essential elements:
• Date of the petition;
• Name and address of the requester;
• Request and grounds for annulment of the arbitral award.
(iv) Required Documents for an Arbitral Award Annulment Petition:
This petition must specify the grounds falling under one or more of the circumstances prescribed in Article 68 of the Law on Commercial Arbitration 2010. It must include documents and evidence that justify the request for annulment of the arbitral award. Note that this petition must include the following duly authenticated, valid documents as follows:
• Original or certified copy of the arbitral award;
• Original or certified copy of the arbitration agreement.
Foreign-language documents must be translated into Vietnamese, and the translation must be duly authenticated.
After completing the arbitral award annulment application, the requesting party shall submit it to the competent court through one of the following three methods: (1) Direct submission at the court; (2) Submission via postal service; (3) Online submission via the court’s electronic portal.
2.2. Court‘s Acceptance of the Petition for Annulment of an Arbitral Award
After receiving the petition for annulment of an arbitral award, the competent court will review it for acceptance. Under Article 71 of the Law on Commercial Arbitration 2010, upon accepting the petition for annulment of an arbitral award, the competent court must immediately notify the Arbitration Center or the ad hoc Arbitral Tribunal, the disputing parties, and the same-level Procuracy.
Within 07 working days from the date of acceptance, the Chief Justice of the court shall assign an examination council comprising three judges, with one designated presiding judge. This examination council shall have the authority to review the case and decide whether or not to annul the arbitral award.
Accepting a petition to annul an arbitral award does not means the court has approved the annulment request. This presents only the initial step in the process of reviewing the request for annulment of the arbitral award. The court will follow additional procedures before making its final decision.
2.3. The Court Organizes a Meeting to Review the Petition for Annulment of an Arbitral Award
Within 30 days from the date of acceptance, the court must hold a meeting to review the petition for annulment of the arbitral award. This is the key stage where the court directly examines and evaluates the arbitral award’s legality based on the grounds and evidence provided.
(i) Attendance at the Meeting:
• The meeting shall be conducted with the presence of the disputing parties, their respective legal counsel (if any), and a Prosecutor from the same-level Procuracy.
• However, if one of the parties is absent or has been duly summoned but is absent without a legitimate reason, or leaves the hearing without the council’s approval, the council shall still proceed with reviewing the petition for annulment of the arbitral award.
(ii) The Matters to be Reviewed at the Meeting:
• When reviewing the petition, the council will evaluate and base its decision on Article 68 of the Law on Commercial Arbitration 2010 and the submitted supporting documents.
• It is important to note that the Council does not retry the content of the dispute that the arbitration tribunal has resolved, but only reviews the legality of the arbitral award based on the grounds and evidence provided. This aligns with the nature of the procedure to request the annulment of an arbitral award, which aims solely to examine the legality of the arbitral award, not to act as an appellate review body.
(iii) Temporary Suspension of Review of the Petition for Annulment of an Arbitral Award:
• At the request of one of the parties and when appropriate, the council may temporarily suspend the review of the petition for annulment of the arbitral award for a period not exceeding 60 days to allow the Arbitral Tribunal to correct procedural errors.
• If the Arbitral Tribunal fails to correct the procedural errors, the council shall continue reviewing the petition for annulment of the arbitral award.
(iv) Termination of Review of the Petition for Annulment of an Arbitral Award:
If the party requesting annulment of the arbitral award withdraws the petition or has been duly summoned but is absent without a legitimate reason or leaves the meeting without the council’s approval, the council shall issue a decision to terminate the review of the petition.
The meeting to review the annulment petition is crucial since the court examines the legality of the arbitral award directly. The requesting party must carefully prepare documents, evidence, and legal arguments to protect their lawful rights and interests at this meeting.
2.4. Issuing a Decision to Annul the Arbitral Award
The final stage in the procedure for requesting the annulment of an arbitral award is the court’s issuance of a decision to annul or uphold the arbitral award. This decisive stage concludes the review process for the arbitral award’s annulment and determines the arbitral award’s validity.
The council is empowered to annul or sustain the arbitral award upon review of the petition. Its decision is final and immediately executable.
Legal Consequences of the Decision to Annul the Arbitral Award:
• If the arbitral award is annulled, the parties can renegotiate and choose either arbitration or a court to resolve the dispute. This means the annulled arbitral award loses its legal validity, and the parties must pursue alternative dispute resolution methods.
• If the council issues a decision to uphold the arbitral award, this arbitral award is enforceable. The parties must fulfill their obligations under the award. Should a party not voluntarily comply with the arbitral award, the opposing party may petition the appropriate civil enforcement authority to compel enforcement.
Within 05 working days from the date of issuance of the decision, the court shall send the decision to the parties, the Arbitration Center or the ad hoc Arbitral Tribunal, and the same-level Procuracy. This dissemination of the decision ensures the parties’ and relevant agencies’ right to information, providing a basis for subsequent steps in the dispute resolution process.
The foregoing constitutes TNTP’s insights on the Procedure for Requesting the Annulment of an Arbitral Award in Vietnam. We trust that the information provided will be of significant utility to the readers. Should you require assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.
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