When business and commercial disputes arise, the parties prioritize resolution through negotiation and mediation. If negotiation and mediation fail, the parties may resolve the dispute in court, possibly undergoing two levels of trial: first-instance and appellate. In this article, TNTP will outline the fundamental aspects of the procedure for the first-instance trial in business and commercial cases according to normal procedures.
1. Step 1: Prepare and submit the lawsuit dossier to the Court
To exercise their right to file a lawsuit, the plaintiff must prepare and submit a lawsuit dossier to the competent people’s court. The lawsuit dossier includes a petition, documents, and evidence proving that the plaintiff’s legitimate rights and interests have been infringed. The plaintiff may submit the lawsuit dossier directly to the court, via postal service, or online through the court’s electronic information portal. The plaintiff should submit the dossier directly at the court or via postal service.
2. Step 2: The Court receives and processes the lawsuit dossier
The Court’s Chief Justice assigns a judge to review the lawsuit petition within 3 working days from receipt. After being assigned, the judge reviews the petition within 5 working days and issues one of the following decisions:
(i) Requesting amendments or supplements to the petition;
(ii) Accepting the case for normal or simplified procedures if the case meets the conditions for the simplified procedures;
(iii) Transferring the petition to the competent court and notifying the plaintiff if the case falls under another court’s jurisdiction;
(iv) Returning the petition to the plaintiff if the case is not within the court’s jurisdiction.
3. Step 3: Pay the advance court fee
Upon receiving the lawsuit dossier, if the court determines the case falls within its jurisdiction, the judge must immediately notify the plaintiff of the advance court fee to be paid (if any). The plaintiff must pay the advance court fee within 7 days of receiving the court’s notification and subsequently submit the receipt of the advance court fee payment to the court. The judge only accepts the case when the plaintiff submits the receipt of payment confirmation. If the plaintiff is exempt or not required to pay the advance court fee, the judge must accept the case upon receiving the lawsuit dossier.
4. Step 4: The Court accepts the case
Within 3 working days of accepting the case, the judge must provide written notification of the case acceptance to the plaintiff, defendant, relevant agencies, organizations, individuals, and the same-level procuracy about the acceptance of the case.
5. Step 5: Prepare for trial
During the trial preparation stage, the dossier will be assigned to the judge handling the case for research and trial preparation. The judge may require the parties to:
(i) Provide additional necessary documents and evidence related to the case;
(ii) Summon the parties to the court for testimony or confrontation;
(iii) Summon the parties to the court for meetings to check the handover of, access to, and disclosure of evidence and mediating. If the case is resolved under simplified procedure or cannot be mediated or must not be mediated, the judge conducts a meeting to check the handover of, access to, and disclosure of evidence without mediation.
If the parties settle, the court will make a reconciliation record and issue a decision recognizing the parties’ agreement. This decision is legally effective immediately upon issuance and is not subject to appeal or protest by appellate procedure. It can only be protested by cassation procedure if there is a basis to believe the agreement was made under mistake, fraud, threat, coercion, or violates laws or social ethics.
If mediation fails, the judge makes a record of the failed mediation and may issue a decision to bring the case to trial.
6. Step 6: Prepare and attend the First-instance trial
According to the Civil Procedure Code of 2015, within a maximum of 8 months from the date of accepting the case, inclusive of any adjournments and suspensions, the court must open the trial. The first-instance trial shall proceed in this order: opening the trial, litigation (questioning and debating), deliberation, and judgment pronouncement.
If no party appeals the judgment and the procuracy does not protest its judgment, it becomes effective after 01 month from the date the first-instance Court pronounces the judgment.
If any party disagrees with part or all of the first-instance judgment, they have the right to file an appeal of the first-instance judgment (appealing the disagreed content) to the first-instance court and the appellate court within 15 days from the date the first-instance court pronounces the judgment. The parties then continue to participate in the appellate trial.
Above is the article “Procedure for the first-instance trial of business and commercial cases” Hopefully, this article provides value to individuals and organizations in their business and commercial activities.
Best regards,
