Procedures for Initiating Civil and Commercial Lawsuits in Vietnam

I. CIVIL DISPUTES UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE COURT (Article 26 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code)

Civil disputes under the Court's jurisdiction for settlement:

1. Disputes over Vietnamese nationality between individuals.

2. Disputes over ownership rights and other rights to assets.

3. Disputes over civil transactions and civil contracts.

4. Disputes over intellectual property rights and technology transfer, except for cases specified in Clause 2, Article 30 of this Code.

5. Disputes over inheritance of assets.

6. Disputes over non-contractual damages.

7. Disputes over damages caused by the improper application of administrative preventive measures in accordance with competition laws, except where such claims are settled within an administrative case.

8. Disputes over the exploitation and use of water resources or discharge of waste into water sources under the Law on Water Resources.

9. Land disputes under the land law; disputes over ownership and forest use rights under the Law on Forest Protection and Development.

10. Disputes relating to professional journalistic activities under the law on the press.

11. Disputes relating to requests to declare notarized documents null and void.

12. Disputes relating to assets distrained for judgment enforcement under the law on civil judgment enforcement.

13. Disputes over asset auction results and payment of costs for registration of asset purchase through auction under the law on civil judgment enforcement.

14. Other civil disputes, except for those under the jurisdiction of other agencies or organizations as prescribed by law.

II. RIGHTS AND SCOPE OF INITIATING CIVIL LAWSUITS

1. The petitioner must have civil procedural law capacity and civil procedural act capacity:

• Civil procedural law capacity is the capability to have rights and obligations in civil proceedings as prescribed by law. All individuals, agencies, and organizations have equal civil procedural law capacity in requesting the Court to protect their legal rights and interests.

• Civil procedural act capacity is the capability to exercise procedural rights and obligations by oneself or to authorize a representative to participate in civil proceedings.

• Participants who are 18 years of age or older have full civil procedural act capacity, except for those who have lost their civil act capacity, have restricted civil act capacity, or as otherwise prescribed by law.

• Participants under 6 years of age or those who have lost their civil act capacity do not have civil procedural act capacity. The protection of their legal rights and interests shall be performed by their legal representatives.

• Participants from full 6 to under 15 years of age shall have their legal rights and interests protected at Court by their legal representatives.

• Participants from full 15 to under 18 years of age who have entered into labor contracts or civil transactions using their own assets may personally participate in proceedings for matters related to such labor or civil relations. In such cases, the Court may summon their legal representatives. For other matters, their protection shall be performed by their legal representatives.

• Agencies and organizations shall participate in proceedings through their legal representatives.

2. Right to initiate a civil lawsuit

• Individuals, agencies, and organizations have the right to initiate a lawsuit personally or through a legal representative (hereinafter collectively referred to as the "petitioner") at a competent Court to protect their legal rights and interests under Article 186 of the Civil Procedure Code.

• Agencies and organizations, within their duties and powers, have the right to initiate civil lawsuits to request the Court to protect the public interest or State interests in their respective fields.

3. Scope of initiation

• An agency, organization, or individual may sue one or more other agencies, organizations, or individuals regarding one or several interrelated legal relations for settlement in the same case.

• Multiple agencies, organizations, or individuals may jointly sue one other agency, organization, or individual regarding one or several interrelated legal relations.

III. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR INITIATING A LAWSUIT

1. Definition

The statute of limitations is the time limit during which a subject is entitled to initiate a lawsuit to request the Court to resolve a civil case; once this period expires, the right to sue is lost, unless otherwise provided by law. In cases where the law does not specify a statute of limitations, the following applies:

• No statute of limitations applies to: Disputes over asset ownership; disputes over reclaiming assets under another's management or possession; land use right disputes.

• For other cases: The statute of limitations is 02 years from the date the individual, agency, or organization knew or should have known that their legal rights and interests were infringed.

2. Specific Statutes of Limitations

• Civil contracts: 03 years from the date of infringement (Article 429 Civil Code).

• Compensation for damages: 03 years from the date of infringement (Article 588 Civil Code).

• Inheritance (Article 623 Civil Code):

  • Claiming an estate or confirming/denying inheritance rights: 10 years from the opening of inheritance.

  • Requesting heirs to perform property obligations left by the deceased: 03 years from the opening of inheritance.

IV. PETITION DOSSIER

A lawsuit dossier includes:

• Petition form (Standard template);

• Documents and evidence proving the claims are grounded and legal (e.g., land documents, loan agreements, debt notes, wills, etc.);

• ID card/Citizen ID and Household registration (certified or notarized) for individual petitioners;

• Legal documents of the petitioner (for legal entities): Business license, certificate of business registration, establishment decision, charter, and appointment of legal representative;

• List of enclosed documents (specifying originals or copies).

• Note: Documents in foreign languages must be translated into Vietnamese and notarized before submission.​

V. COMPETENT COURTS FOR SUBMISSION

1. Jurisdiction of District-level People’s Courts

• Competent to resolve first-instance civil, matrimonial, business, and labor disputes, except for cases involving parties or assets located abroad or requiring judicial entrustment to Vietnamese representative missions or foreign courts abroad.

2. Territorial Jurisdiction

• Defendant's residence/headquarters: The Court where the defendant resides or works (individuals) or has its headquarters (organizations) has the jurisdiction.

• Mutual Agreement: Parties may agree in writing to choose the Court of the plaintiff’s residence/headquarters.

• Real Estate: Only the Court where the real estate is located has jurisdiction.

VI. COURT FEES

1. Types of fees:

   • First-instance court fees for non-monetary disputes (not based on value).

   • First-instance court fees for monetary disputes (based on the value of the claim).

   • Appellate court fees.

2. Obligation to pay Court Fee Advances:

   • The petitioner must pay a 50% advance of the estimated first-instance court fee for monetary disputes.

   • For non-monetary disputes, the advance equals the full court fee.

3. Time limit for payment: Within 15 days from receiving the Court's notice.

4. Fee levels:

   • Non-monetary civil disputes: 200,000 VND.

   • Monetary disputes: Based on the value of the disputed assets.

VII. SETTLEMENT TIMELINE

• Preparation for first-instance trial: 04 months from the date of acceptance. For complex cases or objective obstacles, this may be extended by an additional 02 months.

• Opening of the trial: Within 01 month (maximum 02 months for legitimate reasons) from the date of the decision to bring the case to trial.