PROCEDURES FOR RECOGNITION AND ENFORCEMENT OF CIVIL JUDGMENTS WITH FOREIGN ELEMENTS IN VIETNAM

       To enforce a court’s effective judgment or decision, the judgment creditor must continue to carry out judgment enforcement procedures at the competent judgment enforcement agency. However, for judgments of foreign courts that want to be enforced in Vietnam, they must first carry out procedures for recognition and enforcement of foreign courts’ judgments.

I. Legal documents

–     Civil Code 2015;

–     Civil Procedure Code 2015.

II. Why carry out procedures for recognition and enforcement of judgments of foreign courts in Vietnam

       In many cases, a judgment has been issued by a foreign court, but the judgment debtor resides or works in Vietnam, or the judgment debtor’s office or organization has its head office in Vietnam or related assets to the execution of the sentence. The recognition and enforcement of judgments in Vietnam is necessary and convenient for judgment enforcement and handling of assets of judgment debtors.

       According to international judicial principles, countries respect and are equal in terms of sovereignty, the principle of territorial sovereignty, judgments and decisions of a country’s courts are only valid within its territory. That is, the judgment of a foreign court is not automatically recognized in Vietnam. Judgments resolved by foreign jurisdictions that want to be enforced in Vietnam must first be recognized and enforced in Vietnam.

       Moreover, the nature of the recognition of judgments and decisions of foreign courts in Vietnam is the “conversion” of foreign judgments to the same effect as those of Vietnamese courts, which serve as a basis for requesting judgment enforcement in Vietnam.

       Example: Judgment issued by the Korean Court that the Defendant (Vietnamese citizen) is obliged to pay a certain amount according to the loan contract signed for the Plaintiff (Korean national). However, the Defendant is no longer in Korea but is residing, working and has property in Vietnam. The Plaintiff who wants to request the Defendant to perform the payment obligation must carry out procedures for recognition and enforcement of the judgment of the Korean Court in Vietnam.

       Therefore, in order to the judgment issued by a foreign court to be binding on the involved parties in Vietnam, it is necessary to carry out the procedures for requesting the recognition and enforcement of the civil judgment or decision of the foreign court.

III. Regulations of Vietnamese law on procedures for recognition and enforcement of judgments of foreign courts

a. Types of civil judgments subject to recognition and enforcement procedures in Vietnam

        Article 423 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code stipulates that there are 03 types of civil judgments and decisions of foreign courts to be considered for recognition and enforcement in Vietnam, including:

– Judgments/decisions on civil, marriage and family, business, commercial, labor matters; decisions for property in criminal or administrative judgments/decisions of foreign courts are prescribed in the international conventions to which that country and Vietnam are members;

– Judgments/decisions on civil, marriage and family, business, commercial, and labor matters; decisions for property in criminal or administrative judgments/decisions of foreign courts, of which that country and Vietnam are not both parties to an international treaty that provides for the recognition and enforcement of judgments and decisions of foreign courts on the basis of the principle of reciprocity;

 – Other civil judgments and decisions of foreign courts are recognized and enforced by Vietnamese law.

b. Persons entitled to request recognition and enforcement of judgments of foreign

       The person who has the right to request recognition, enforcement of a foreign court’s judgment is the person who is enforceable under the judgment or their legal representative.

c. Competent authority to deal with:

–  Ministry of Justice

–  Competent court according to the provisions of the Civil Procedure Code 2015

d. Procedures:

Includes steps:

Step 1: Submit application for recognition and enforcement of judgments

  • The judgment creditor or their legal representative prepares an attached application for recognition and enforcement of a foreign court’s judgment, including papers and documents as prescribed in Article 434 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015, and sends it to the Ministry of Justice.
  • The content of the petition must ensure the contents specified in Article 433 of the Civil Procedure Code.

Step 2: Accepting the application and preparing to consider the petition

  • Within 05 working days from the date of receipt of the dossier, the Ministry of Justice will transfer it to a competent court.
  • Within 05 working days from the date of receipt of the transferred dossier, the competent court shall consider and accept the dossier and notify the petitioner and the Ministry of Justice.
  • The time limit to prepare and consider the application is 04 months from the date of acceptance. During this period, the Court will issue one of the following three decisions: to suspend the consideration of the application, to terminate the consideration of the application, or to open a meeting for considering the application.

Step 3: Petition review session

  • Time to open a meeting: within 1 month from the date of issuance of a decision to open a meeting as prescribed in Articles 437 and 438 of the Civil Procedure Code.
  • Composition of the Council to consider the petition: consists of 03 judges, in which one judge acts as the presiding judge as assigned by the Chief Justice of the Court.
  • Participants in the meeting: the creditor, the debtor or their lawful representative, and the procurator of the procuracy of the same level as competent courts (if the procurator is absent, the meeting will still be conducted).
  • Result: After checking the application and accompanying papers and documents and listening to the opinions of the summoned people and of the procurator, if there is enough basis, the Panel will issue a decision to recognize and enforce the judgment or decisions of foreign courts in Vietnam.

Step 4: Submit the Court’s decision and appeal, protest

  • Time limit for sending: 15 days from the date of issuance of the decision specified in Clause 5, Article 438 of the Civil Procedure Code,
  • The decision on recognition and enforcement must be sent to the involved parties, the Ministry of Justice, the Procuracy and the civil judgment enforcement agency.
  • Right to appeal: litigants, their legal representatives
  • Right to protest and time limit for protest: Senior People’s Procuracy (10 days), Provincial People’s Procuracy (07 days), from the date of receipt of the decision.
  •  The civil judgment enforcement agency will be the competent authority to continue executing the judgment according to the content of the recognized judgment for judgment enforcement.