Chapter II
BASIC PRINCIPLES
Article 3.- Assurance of the socialist legislation in civil procedures
All civil procedural activities of procedure-conducting persons, civil procedure-participants, of relevant individuals, agencies and organizations must comply with the provisions of this Code.
Article 4.- Right to request courts to protect legitimate rights and interests
Individuals, agencies and organizations defined by this Code shall have the right to institute civil cases, request the resolution of civil matters at competent courts in order to protect the legitimate rights and interests of their own or of others.
Article 5.- Involved parties' right to decision-making and self-determination
1. The involved parties shall have the right to decide whether to initiate civil lawsuits, request competent courts to settle civil cases or matters. The courts shall only accept for settlement civil cases and/or matters when they receive lawsuit petitions and/or written requests from the involved parties and shall settle the cases and/or matters only within the scope of such lawsuit petitions or written requests.
2. In the course of settling civil cases and/or matters, the involved parties shall have the right to terminate or change their requests or voluntarily reach agreement with one another, which is not contrary to law and social ethics.
Article 6.- Supply of evidences and proofs in civil procedures
1. The involved parties shall have the right and obligation to supply evidences to courts and prove that their requests are well grounded and lawful.
Individuals, agencies or organizations that initiate lawsuits or file their requests to protect the legitimate rights and interests of other persons shall have the right and obligation to supply evidences and to prove like the involved parties.
2. The courts shall only verify or gather evidences in the cases prescribed by this Code.
Article 7.- Responsibility of competent individuals, agencies and organizations to supply evidences
Individuals, agencies and organizations shall, within the scope of their tasks and powers, be obliged to provide the involved parties and courts with case evidences currently being under their possession or management at the requests of the involved parties and/or courts; in cases where they cannot do so, they must notify such to the involved parties and/or courts in writing and clearly state the reasons therefore.
Article 8.- Equality in rights and obligations in civil procedures
All citizens are equal before law and courts regardless of their nationalities, sexes, social status, beliefs, religions, educational levels and occupations. All agencies and organizations are equal regardless of their forms of organization, ownership and other matters.
The involved parties are equal in rights and obligations in civil procedures; the courts have the responsibility to create conditions for them to exercise their rights and perform their obligations.
Article 9.- Ensuring the involved parties' right to defense
The involved parties shall have the right to defend by themselves or ask lawyers or other persons who satisfy the conditions prescribed by this Code to defend their legitimate rights and interests.
The courts have the responsibility to provide assurance for the involved parties to exercise their right to defense.
Article 10.- Conciliation in civil procedures
The courts have the responsibility to conduct conciliation and create favorable conditions for the involved parties to reach agreement with one another on the resolution of civil cases or matters under the provisions of this Code.
Article 11.- Participation of people's jurors in adjudication of civil cases
The adjudication of civil cases shall be participated by people's jurors as provided for by this Code. Upon trials people's jurors are equal in powers to judges.
Article 12.- Judges and people's jurors are independent in trial and only comply with law
Upon trial of civil cases, judges and people's jurors shall be independent and only comply with law.
All acts of hindering judges and people's jurors from performing their tasks are strictly prohibited.
Article 13.- Responsibilities of civil procedure-conducting agencies, and persons
1. Civil procedure-conducting agencies and persons must respect the people and submit to the people's supervision.
2. Civil procedure-conducting agencies and persons shall be held responsible before law for the performance of their tasks and powers. Where the civil procedure-conducting persons commit law violation acts, they shall, depending on the nature and seriousness of their violations, be disciplined or examined for penal liability according to law provisions.
3. Civil procedure-conducting agencies and persons must keep State secrets, work secrets as prescribed by law; preserve the nation's fine customs and practices, keep professional secrets, business secrets, personal secrets of the involved parties at their legitimate requests.
4. If civil procedure-conducting persons commit illegal acts, causing damage to individuals, agencies and/or organizations, the courts must pay damages to the victims and the civil procedure-conducting persons shall have to reimburse the courts according to law provisions.
Article 14.- Collective trial by courts
A court shall conduct the collective trial of civil cases and make decisions by majority.
Article 15.- Public trials
1. The court trial of civil cases shall be carried out publicly, anyone can attend the trials, except for cases prescribed by this Code.
2. In special cases where it is necessary to keep the State secrets or preserve the nation's fine customs and practices, keep the professional secrets, business secrets or personal secrets of individuals at legitimate requests of the involved parties, the courts shall conduct trials behind closed doors but must publicly pronounce the judgments.
Article 16.- Ensuring impartiality of persons that conduct or participate in civil procedures
Chief judges, judges, people's jurors, court clerks, procuracy chairmen, prosecutors, interpreters and/or expert-witnesses must not conduct or participate in civil procedures if there are good reasons to believe that they may not be impartial in performing their tasks and exercising their powers.
Article 17.- Following the two-level adjudication regime
1. The courts shall follow the regime of two-level adjudication
The courts' first-instance judgments or decisions can be appealed or protested against under the provisions of this Code.
First-instance judgments or decisions which are not appealed or protested against according to appellate procedures within the time limit provided for by this Code shall become legally effective. Where first-instance judgments or decisions are appealed or protested against, the cases must undergo appellate trials. The appellate judgments or decisions shall be legally effective.
2. The courts' first-instance judgments or decisions which have already taken legal effect but have been detected with law violations or new details shall be reviewed according to the cassation or reopening procedures under the provisions of this Code.
Article 18.- Supervision of trials
Superior courts supervise the adjudication by subordinate courts, the Supreme People's Court supervises the adjudication by courts of all levels in order to ensure a strict and uniform application of law.
Article 19.- Assurance of the effect of courts' judgments, decisions
Legally effective judgments, decisions of courts must be enforced and observed by all citizens, agencies and organizations. Individuals, agencies and organizations that have the obligation to execute the courts' judgments, decisions must strictly execute them.
Within the scope of their respective tasks and powers, the People's Courts and agencies or organizations, which are assigned the tasks to enforce courts' judgments or decisions must strictly enforce them and bear responsibility before law for the performance of such tasks.
Article 20.- Spoken and written language used in civil procedures
Spoken and written language to be used in civil procedures is the Vietnamese.
Participants in civil procedures may use the voices and scripts of their ethnic groups and in this case interpreters are required.
Article 21.- Supervising the law observance in civil procedures
1. The People's Procuracies shall supervise the law observance in civil procedures and exercise the rights to request, petition or protest according to law provisions in order to ensure lawful and timely resolution of civil cases and matters.
2. The People's Procuracies shall participate in court sessions for cases with evidences collected by courts but complained about by the involved parties, for civil matters falling under the courts' jurisdiction and for civil cases and matters with courts' judgments or decisions protested against by the People's Procuracies.
Article 22.- Courts' responsibility to transfer documents and papers
1. The courts shall have the responsibility to transfer directly or via postal service their judgments, decisions, summons, invitations and other relevant documents to the participants in the civil procedures according to the provisions of this Code.
2. Where the courts cannot do so, the People's Committees of communes, wards or district townships (hereinafter called collectively commune-level People's Committees) where such persons reside or the agencies or organizations where they work shall have the responsibility to transfer the judgments, decisions, summons, invitations and other relevant papers of courts to such persons when so requested by courts and must notify the courts of the results thereof.
Article 23.- Participation of individuals, agencies, organizations in civil procedures
Individuals, agencies and organizations shall have the right and obligation to participate in civil procedures according to the provisions of this Code, and contribute to the lawful and timely resolution of the civil cases and matters at courts.
Article 24.- Assurance of the right to complaints and denunciations in civil procedures
Individuals, agencies and organizations shall have the right to complain about, individuals shall have the right to denounce, illegal acts of persons conducting the civil procedures or of any individuals, agencies or organizations in civil proceedings.
Competent agencies, organizations or individuals must accept, consider and settle promptly and lawfully complaints and denunciations; notify in writing the settlement results to the complainants and denouncers.
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Bộ luật Tố tụng dân sự 2004 (Bản Word)
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