Procedures
Two-level adjudication with cassation review by the Supreme People's Court
The Civil Procedure Code 2015 provides first-instance and appellate levels, plus extraordinary cassation and reopening procedures. Courts have an active investigative role and may collect evidence themselves.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — District People's Courts hear most first-instance civil claims; provincial courts take larger and foreign-element cases and hear appeals. Cassation lies to the Supreme People's Court.
Governing law
- Civil Procedure Code No. 92/2015/QH13
- Law on Commercial Arbitration No. 54/2010/QH12
- Law on Civil Judgment Enforcement2008, amended 2014
In practice
Limitation is generally two years from the date a right is infringed for civil claims and three years for contract disputes under the Civil Code, with the important feature that limitation applies only if a party raises it. Court fees are ad valorem. Judgments are enforced through civil judgment enforcement agencies rather than the court itself, and enforcement delay is the most common practical complaint. Vietnam recognises foreign judgments only where a treaty applies or on reciprocity, so most cross-border contracts choose arbitration; Vietnam is a New York Convention party, though annulment applications on public policy grounds have historically had a high success rate.