Guide on vietnamese rules of procedure for recognition and enforcement of foreign awards pursuant to the new york convention of 1958

Vietnam
This Country Answer reflects the state of the law as of 07 February 2018.
A. The Contracting State and the New York Convention
1. Name of Contracting State (also specify jurisdiction(s), if relevant)
Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam).
2. Date of entry into force of the New York Convention
11 December 1995.
(Source: />atus.html)
3. Has any reservation been made under Art. I(3) of the New York
Convention regarding:
(a) reciprocity?
Yes. Vietnam only considers the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards made
within the territory of another Contracting State of New York Convention. With respect
to arbitral awards made in the territories of non-contracting States, it will apply the
Convention on the basis of reciprocity.
(b) commercial relationships?
Yes.Vietnam has made a reservation for commercial relationship. Accordingly, awards
involved in non-commercial disputes, e.g. matrimonial or criminal disputes, are not
qualified for recognition and enforcement in Vietnam.
(Source: />atus.html)
4. In addition to arbitral awards made in the territory of another State, the
New York Convention (Art. I(1)) also applies to arbitral awards not
considered as domestic awards in the State where recognition and
enforcement are sought. Are there any awards rendered in your country
that are not considered as domestic awards such that the New York
Convention and the answers to this Questionnaire are applicable to them?
Yes. Arbitral awards made in the territory of Vietnam but rendered by foreign
arbitrations shall not be considered as domestic arbitral awards under Vietnamese
laws. Accordingly, the said awards must be subject to recognition and enforcement
procedure.
(Sources: Civil Procedure Code of the 2015, Art. 424; The 2010 Law on Commercial

Arbitration of Vietnam, Art. 3, paras. 11 and 12)
B. National sources of law
5. What specific sources of law are applicable
enforcement of foreign awards (e.g. statutes,
directives, other legal instruments)?
(i)

to recognition and
regulations, codes,

New York Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of foreign arbitral
awards (NYC)


(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)

(vi)

Decision no. 453/QD-CTN of the President of Vietnam dated 28 July 1995 on
the Accession of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to the New York Convention
Civil Procedure Code no. 92/2015/QH13 of the National Assembly, which came
into effect as from 01 July 2016 (CPC)
Law on Commercial Arbitration no. 54/2010/QH12 of the National Assembly,
Art. 3, paras. 11 and 12 regarding the definition of foreign arbitrations and
foreign arbitral awards (LCA)
Law on Enforcement of Civil Judgement no. 26/2008/QH12 enforced as from 01
July 2009 and was amended and supplemented by Law no. 64/2014/QH13

dated 25 November 2014 of the National Assembly which came into force as
from 01 July 2015 (LECJ)
Resolution 01/2014/NQ-HDTP dated 20 March 2014 of the Council of Judges of
the Supreme People’s Court, Article 5, para. 5 regarding determination of
entitlements of courts to activities of foreign arbitrators in Vietnam (Resolution
01/2014)

C. Limitation periods (time limits)
6.
(a) Is there a limitation period (time limit) applicable to the commencement
of legal proceedings for recognition and enforcement of foreign awards?
Yes.
(b) If yes, what is the applicable limitation period (time limit) and when
does it start running?
An application for recognition and enforcement of an arbitral award must be filed
within 03 years as from the date the award has legal effect. Under LCA, the date the
award has legal effect will be as from the date of its issuance.
(Sources: CPC, Art. 451.1; LCA, Art. 61.5)
D. National courts and court proceedings
7. What authority or court
enforcement of foreign awards?

has

jurisdiction

over

recognition

and

The award creditor may (i) file an application to the Ministry of Justice if the
provisions of international treaty to which Vietnam is a signatory required so or (ii)
directly submit to the provincial competent court of Vietnam if the relevant
international treaty does not provide for or there is no relevant international treaty. In
the first case, after examining the application dossier, the Ministry of Justice shall
transfer the case files to a provincial Court which has the jurisdiction over recognition
and enforcement of foreign awards.
Accordingly, if the foreign arbitral awards are governed NYC, the award creditor could
directly submit the application to the competent court.
(Sources: CPC, Art. 451. 1 and Art. 454.1)
8. What requirements, if any, must be met for the authority or court to
accept jurisdiction over recognition and enforcement of foreign awards
(e.g. domicile or assets of respondent in the jurisdiction, etc.)?
In order for the Ministry of Justice or competent court to accept jurisdiction over
recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards, the award debtor must be


domiciled/headquartered or a relevant asset must exist within the territory of
Vietnam.
(Source: CPC, Art. 39.2(e))
9. Is the first decision granting or denying recognition and enforcement
obtained through ex parte or inter partes proceedings?
The first decision on recognition and enforcement are obtained through inter partes
proceedings. Specifically, at the hearings, there shall be the participation of: (i) a
hearing panel including 03 judges, (ii) a procurator representing the competent
procuracy, and (iii) the award debtor and the award creditor (or the representatives
thereof). However, if the award debtor (or the representative thereof) requests the
court to consider the petition in their absence or the award debtor (or the

representative thereof) is absent twice, the court shall still proceed the hearing to
consider the application for the recognition and enforcement.
(Source: CPC, Art. 458, paras. 1, 2, and 3)
10.
(a) Is the first decision granting or denying recognition and enforcement
subject to any form of appeal or recourse?
Yes.
(b) How many levels of appeal or recourse are available against this
decision?
In general, two. Firstly, the first instance decision may be appealed at a High People’s
Court upon the appeal of a party or the protest of the procuracies. Next, the decision
rendered by a High People’s Court may be recoursed under cassation or retrial
procedures.
(Sources: CPC, Art. 461 and Art. 462.6)
11. What is the earliest stage in legal proceedings for enforcement of
foreign arbitral awards at which a party can obtain execution against
assets (i.e. party actually obtains possession of assets as opposed to
simply freezing assets)?
An award creditor could request for execution against assets in Vietnam only when
the decision granting the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards
takes legal effect. A first-instance decision shall take effect after 15 days since its
issuance if it is not appealed against. That is also the earliest possible time for the
award creditor to request for execution. An appellate, cassation, or retrial decision
shall take legal effect since its issuance.
(Sources: CPC, Art. 427.3, Art. 482.1 (d), Art. 461, Art. 349, and LECJ, Art. 2.1 (d))
E. Evidence required
12.
(a) What evidence must be supplied for recognition and enforcement of
foreign awards (e.g. arbitral award, contract containing arbitration clause,
affidavits, witness statements, etc.)?

Unless otherwise required by international treaty that Vietnam has ratified, the
applications for recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in Vietnam
must be enclosed with:
(i)

the original or certified true copy of the foreign arbitral award; and

(ii)

the original or certified true copy of arbitration agreements between parties.
Accordingly, the “arbitration agreement” shall include an arbitration agreement
incorporated in a contract or an independent arbitration agreement signed by
parties or contained in an exchange of letters or telegrams.

However, in practice, the award creditors are often requested to further provide its
business registration certificate to prove the signatory capacity of the legal
representative who signed the Application. Additionally, during the process of legal
proceeding, the court may request the parties to provide other evidence such as the
company charter of parties, business registration certificate of the award debtor, or
other documents to prove the signatory capacity of the parties’ representatives
and/or the proper conduct of the arbitration, for example affidavits/ legal opinion on
foreign laws and written confirmations of international express couriers to prove
actual service, etc.
(Sources: NYC, Article IV; CPC, Article 453.1)
(b) Is it necessary to provide the entire document or only certain parts (e.g.
entire contract or only arbitration clause)?
For the purpose of recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in Vietnam,
it is required to provide entire foreign arbitral award and entire contract which

contains the arbitration agreement.
(c) Are originals or duly certified copies required?
The documents enclosed with the Application must be either originals or duly
certified copies which are notarized, legalized and translated into Vietnamese before
submitting to the Ministry of Justice or the court.
(Source: CPC, Article 453)
(d) How many originals or duly certified copies are required?
The 1958 New York Convention and CPC do not provide for the quantity of set of
documents to be submitted together with the Application. However, in practice, the
award creditors are often required to submit 01 original set of documents which is
duly notarized and legalized and translated into Vietnamese language and 03
certified copies thereof.
(e) Does the authority or court keep the originals that are filed?
The original set of documents will be kept by the court.
13.
(a) Is it necessary to provide a translation of the documents supplied?
According to Article 453.2 of the 2015 CPC, the award creditors are required to
provide the translation of the documents enclosed with the Application to submit to
the court.
(Source: CPC, Art. 453.2)


(b) If yes, into what language?
The required documents must be translated into Vietnamese language.
(Source: CPC, Art. 453.2)
(c) Is it necessary for the translations to be certified and, if yes, by whom
(official or sworn translator, diplomatic or consular agent (of which
country?) or some other person)?
The Vietnamese translation must be made by a qualified translator being collaborator
of a notary public office. The translator shall sign every page of his/her translations

before the notary public certified such translations.
(Sources: Law on Notarization no. 53/2014/QH13 dated 26 June 2014, Art. 61, came
into effect as from 01 January 2015)
(d) Is it necessary to provide a full translation of the documents or only a
translation of certain parts (e.g. entire award or only part setting forth the
decisions; entire contract or only arbitration clause)?
It is required to provide a full translation of entire foreign arbitral award and entire
contract which contains the arbitration agreement. Other documents may be partially
translated on a case-by-case basis.
F. Stay of enforcement
14.
(a) Can the authority or court stay legal proceedings for recognition and
enforcement pending the outcome of an application to set aside or suspend
the foreign award before the competent authority referred to in Art. V(1)(e)
of the New York Convention?
Yes. The court shall issue a decision to stay the legal proceedings for recognition and
enforcement of the foreign arbitral award if the foreign arbitral award is being reconsidered by a competent agency of the country where the award is rendered. Even
after a decision recognizing an arbitral award is issued by the court, the enforcement
of such decision could be suspended when the court receives the written notification
of a competent foreign authority which is considering the request for appealing or
setting aside the foreign arbitral award.
(Sources: CPC, Art. 457.2(a) and Art. 463.1)
(b) On what other grounds, if any, can the authority or court stay legal
proceedings for recognition and enforcement (e.g. forum non conveniens)?
The court could further, stay legal proceedings for consideration of the application for
recognition and enforcement of the foreign arbitral awards if (i) the award debtor
being individual has died or the award debtor being agency/organization has been
merged, amalgamated, divided or dissolved without successor; or (ii) the award
debtor being individual is lack of legal capacity but his/her lawful representatives
have not been determined;

The enforcement of decision recognizing and enforcing foreign arbitral award can
also be suspended where
the Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court of Vietnam or the Head of the
Supreme People’s Procuracy of Vietnam issues a decision on suspension of


enforcement due to cassation or retrial procedure; or an application/request for an
insolvency of the award debtor is enrolled.
(Sources: CPC, Article 457.2. (b) and (c) and Article 463; Article 49 LECJ)
(c) Is the granting of a stay of legal proceedings for recognition and
enforcement conditional on the provision of security?
No.
G. Confidentiality
15.
(a) Do the documents filed in legal proceedings for recognition and
enforcement form part of the public record? If yes, can any steps be taken
to preserve the confidentiality of such documents?
Since Vietnamese laws keep silent in respect of whether the documents filed in legal
proceeding for recognition and enforcement form part of the public record, the
regulations on the confidentiality of the evidence in general civil proceedings shall be
applied. Accordingly, all the evidence, documents filed in legal proceedings for
recognition and enforcement form part of the public record. There are only some
cases where the evidence would be preserved confidential such as material/evidence
contents related to State secrets, fine customs and practices of the nation,
professional secrets, business secrets, family secrets or secrets of individuals' private
lives at the legitimate requests of the involved parties.
Accordingly, a party may file a request to the Court for preservation of confidentiality
of documents if such documents fall within one of the abovementioned
circumstances.
(Source: CPC, Art. 109.2)

(b) If there are hearings on recognition and enforcement, are such hearings
confidential? If not, can steps be taken to maintain the confidentiality of
the legal proceedings?
The hearings on recognition and enforcement, as other court trials, are not
confidential. A party may submit a request for a confidential hearing only in some
special cases i.e. it is necessary to keep the State secrets, preserve the nation’s fine
customs and practices, protect minors or to keep professional secrets, business
secrets, personal secrets of the involved parties as their request.
(Source: CPC, Art. 15.2)
(c) Are judgments on recognition and enforcement published? If yes, can
steps be taken to remove the names of the parties or avoid publication of
confidential information (such as business or State secrets)?
The court judgments on recognition and enforcement, as general rules, are published
and shall be posted on e-portal of the Court which is available at:
or (in Vietnamese
only). However, to avoid the publication of confidential information or the court
judgement, the party requesting the preservation of confidentiality must prove that
the publication of the court judgements would result in violation of State secrets, the
nation’s fine customs and practices, professional secrets, business secrets, personal
secrets, family secrets, national interests, public interests or the legitimated rights
and interests of agencies, organizations and individuals.


(Sources: CPC, Article 269.4; Art. 315.3 and Art. 350.2; Resolution 03/2017/NQ-HDTP
dated 16 March 2017 of the Council of Judges of the Supreme People’s People Court
regarding the publication of court decision and judgement on the e-portal of the
Court, Art.2, in effect as from 01 July 2017)
H. Other issues
16. When, if ever, can a party obtain recognition and enforcement of
interim or partial foreign awards?

In order to be recognized and enforced in Vietnam, a foreign arbitral award must be
an arbitral decision resolving the entire dispute, terminating the arbitral procedures
and being effective. Thus, the possibility of recognition and enforcement of foreign
interim arbitral awards is excluded. Similarly, partial awards are not qualified as
arbitral awards for recognition and enforcement under Vietnamese laws.
(Sources: CPC, Art. 424.2; LCA, Art. 3.10)
17. When, if ever, can a party obtain recognition and enforcement of nonmonetary relief in foreign arbitral awards (e.g. order requiring a party to
deliver up share certificates or other property)?
A party can obtain recognition and enforcement in Vietnam of non-monetary relief in
foreign arbitral awards. However, in practice, such arbitral awards may be difficult for
organizing coercive enforcement.
18. When, if ever, can a party obtain recognition and enforcement of only
part of the relief granted in foreign awards?
If a foreign arbitral award rendered over a dispute exceeds the request of parties of
the arbitration agreement, part of the relief granted in such a foreign award on the
matter requested to be settled by the parties may be recognized and enforced by the
Court in Vietnam. The award creditor could also request the enforcement agency to
enforce only part(s) of the relief granted in foreign awards
(Sources: CPC, Art. 459.1(d), LECJ, Art. 7.1(a))
19. When, if ever, can a party obtain recognition and enforcement of
foreign awards which have been set aside by the competent authority
referred to in Art. V(1)(e) of the New York Convention?
Vietnamese courts do not consider recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral
awards which have been set aside by the competent authority of the country in
which those arbitral awards were rendered. Even if the court issued a decision
recognizing and enforcing a foreign arbitral award, such decision will be repealed if
the court has received a notice in writing of foreign competent authorities on setting
aside such an arbitral award.
(Source: CPC, Art. 459.1. (g) and Art. 463.2)
20. Are there any other procedural or practical requirements relating to

recognition and enforcement of foreign awards which are worth mentioning
(e.g. unusually high court costs, filing fees, stamp duties, obligation to post
security as a condition for seeking recognition and enforcement, obligation
to identify the assets that will be the object of enforcement, etc.)?


The submission of a request for recognition and enforcement of a foreign arbitral
awards requires the payment of filing fees of VND 3,000,000.00 (approx. USD 132). If
a party wants to appeal the decision of the first instance court, they are required to
pay an additional appeal court fee advance of VND 300,000 (around USD 13).
Furthermore, when applying for execution of the court judgement on recognition and
enforcement, the award creditor shall pay enforcement fee which is calculated basing
on the actual amount which the award creditor will receive from the execution
procedure.
Secondly, one of the exceptions for recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral
awards under Vietnamese laws is when the recognition and enforcement of such
foreign arbitral award breaches the fundamental principles of Vietnamese laws,
instead of violating public policy under Article V.2(b) NYC. However, Vietnamese laws
provide no official definition or guidance to interpret this ground. Thus, when
considering recognition, the Vietnamese Courts sometimes relies on this exception to
review the merits of the disputes and the content of the arbitral awards.
Another common ground often raised by the award debtor to object the recognition
and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards which were rendered in an ex-parte
proceedings, is that it was not given proper notice of arbitration documents. The
award creditor is thus, often required to provide the court with evidence proving that
the award debtor has actually received these notices of the arbitral tribunal e.g. the
receipt, minutes of delivery, etc., rather than evidence of serving, e.g. the express
waybill of the couriers.
(Sources: CPC, Art. 459.2(b) and Art. 459.1.c; Court cost and fee tariff attached to
Resolution No. 326/2016/UBTVQH14 dated 30 December 2016 of the Standing

Committee of National Assembly, came into force as from 01 January 2017; Decree
no. 62/2015/ND-CP dated 18 July 2015 of the Government guiding for law on
enforcement of civil judgments, Art. 46, came into force as from 01 September 2015)
Country Rapporteur:
Nguyen Manh Dzung, MCIArb
Other contributors:
Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, Vu Thi Phuong Thao, and Nguyen Thi Mai Anh.