Chương IX Bộ luật Tố tụng dân sự 2004: Án phí, lệ phí và các chi phí tố tụng khác

Chapter IX

COURT FEES, CHARGES AND OTHER PROCEDURAL EXPENSES

Section 1. COURT FEES AND CHARGES

Article 127.- Court fee advance, charge advance, court fees and charges

1. Court fee advances shall include first-instance court fee advances and appellate court fee advances.

2. Court fees shall include first-instance court fees and appellate court fees.

3. Charges shall include charges for providing copies of judgments, decisions or other documents of courts, charges for filing applications requesting courts to settle civil matters, charges for settlement of civil matters and other charges stipulated by law.

Article 128.- Handling of collected court fee advance, charge advance, court fees and charges

1. All collected court fees and charges must be fully and timely remitted into the State budget at the State Treasury.

2. Court fee advance and charge advance shall be submitted to the competent judgment-executing agencies for deposit in custody accounts opened at the State Treasury, and shall be withdrawn for judgment execution under court decisions.

3. If the persons who have advanced court fees or charges must bear such fees and/or charges, immediately after the court judgments or decisions take implement effect, the collected advance amounts must be remitted into the State budget.

In cases where the persons who have advanced court fees and/or charges are entitled to partial or full reimbursement of the amounts they have paid under court judgments or decisions, the judgment-executing agencies which have collected the court fee advances or charge advances must carry out procedures to return the money to them.

4. In cases where the resolution of the civil cases or matters is suspended, the already advanced court fees and/or advanced charges shall be disposed when the resolution of the civil cases or matters resumes.

Article 129.- Regime of collection and expenditure of court fee advances, charge advances, court fees and charges

The collection of court fee advances and court fees, charge advances and court charges; and the expenditure of court fee advances, charge advances must comply with law provisions.

Article 130.- Obligation to advance court fees and advance charges

1. The plaintiffs, the defendants who have made counter-claims against the plaintiffs and the persons with related rights and interests who have made independent claims in civil cases must advance first-instance court fees; the persons who have made appeals must advance appellate court fees, except for cases where they are exempted from, or do not have to pay court fee advances.

2. Persons who have filed applications requesting courts to settle civil matters must advance charges for the resolution of such civil matters, except for cases where they do not have to pay the charge advances.

Article 131.- Obligation to pay first-instance court fees

1. The involved parties must bear the first-instance court fees if their requests are not accepted by courts, except for cases where they are exempted from, or do not have to pay such fees.

2. In cases where the involved parties cannot themselves determine their portions in the common properties, and request the courts to settle the division of the common properties, each party must pay the first-instance court fee corresponding to the value of the property portion she/he/it enjoys.

3. If prior to the opening of court sessions, the courts conduct with conciliations and the involved parties have reached mutual agreement on the resolution of cases, they must bear 50% of the first-instance court fee level prescribed in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article.

4. The plaintiffs in divorce cases must pay first-instance court fees, without depending on whether the courts accept their requests or not. In cases where both parties voluntarily agree on their divorce, each involved party must bear half of the first-instance court fees.

5. If an involved party to a case is exempted from the first-instance court fee, then the other involved party shall still have to pay the first-instance court fee payable under Clauses 1, 2, 3 and 4 of this Article.

6. Where the case is suspended, the obligation to pay first-instance court fee shall be decided when the resolution of the case resumes in accordance with the provisions in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this Article.

Article 132.- Obligation to pay appellate court fees

1. The appellant must pay the appellate court fees, if the appealed first-instance judgments or decision are maintained by the courts of appeal, except for cases where the appellants are exempted from, or do not have to pay such fees.

2. The appellants shall not pay the appellate court fees, if the appealed first-instance judgments or decisions are amended by the courts of appeal. The courts of appeal must re-determine the obligation to pay first-instance court fees as provided for in Article 131 of this Code.

3. Where the courts of appeal abrogate the appealed first-instance judgments or decisions for first-instance re-trial, the appellants shall not be obliged to pay the appellate court fees. The obligation to pay court fees shall be re-determined when the cases are retried.

Article 133.- Obligation to pay charges

The obligation to pay charges shall be determined depending on specific types of civil matters and shall be prescribed by law.

Article 134.- Specific provisions on court fees and charges

Court fees, court fee level applicable to each specific type of case, types of charges and the specific charge levels, the cases of exemption or non-payment of court fee or charge advances, the cases of exemption or non-payment of court fees or charges, and other specific matters concerning court fees and charges, which are not prescribed in this Code, shall be stipulated by the National Assembly Standing Committee.

Section 2. OTHER PROCEDURAL EXPENSES

Article 135.- Expertising expense advances, expertising expenses

1. Expertising expense advance is a sum of money estimated by the organization or individual requested by the court to conduct an expertise under a court decision.

2. Expertising expense means a reasonable and necessary sum of money to be spent for the expertise and calculated by the organization or individual conducting such expertise, on the basis of law provisions.

Article 136.- Obligation to pay expertising expense advances

1. The persons who request expertises must pay expertising expense advances, except otherwise agreed upon by the parties or provided for by law.

2. In cases where the involved parties agree to choose the expertising agency, or jointly request expertise of the same object, each party must pay half of the expertising expense advance, except otherwise agreed upon by the parties or provided for by law.

Article 137.- Handling of paid expertising expense advances

1. In cases where the persons who have advanced expertising expenses do not have to pay the expertising expenses, the persons who must pay the expertising expenses under court decisions must refund the money to the persons who have paid them.

2. In cases where the persons who have paid the expertising expense advances are obliged to pay the expertising expenses, but the paid advance money is not enough to cover the actual expertising expenses, such persons must pay the deficit amount. If the advanced amounts exceed the actual expertising expenses, the surplus shall be refunded to the persons who have advanced the money.

Article 138.- Obligation to pay expertising expenses

In cases where the parties do not otherwise agree or the law does not otherwise prescribe, the obligation to pay expertising expenses shall be determined as follows:

1. The persons who request expertises must pay the expertising expenses if the expertising results prove that their requests are groundless.

2. The persons who do not accept the expertising requests must pay the expertising expenses if the expertising results prove that the expertising requests are well grounded.

Article 139.- Valuation expense advances, valuation expenses

1. The valuation expense advance means a sum of money estimated by the Evaluation Boards for valuation conducted under a court decision.

2. Valuation expenses are the reasonable and necessary sums of money to be paid for the valuation and calculated by the Valuation Boards on the basis of law provisions.

Article 140.- Obligation to advance valuation expenses

1. The persons who request the valuations must advance valuation expenses, except otherwise agreed upon by the parties or provided for by law.

2. In cases where the involved parties could not agree on the prices and request the courts to conduct the valuation, or for cases prescribed at Point b, Clause 1, Article 92 of this Code, each party must pay half of the valuation expenses.

Article 141.- Handling of the paid valuation expense advance

1. In cases where the persons who have advanced the valuation expenses do not have to pay the valuation expenses, the persons who are obliged to pay the valuation expenses under court decisions must refund the money to the persons who have advanced the valuation expenses.

2. In cases where the persons who have advanced the valuation expenses are obliged to pay them, but advanced amounts are not enough to cover the actual valuation expenses, such persons must pay the deficits. If the advanced sums exceed the actual valuation expenses, the surpluses shall be refunded to the persons who have advanced the money.

Article 142.- Obligation to pay valuation expenses

In cases where the involved parties do not otherwise agree or the law does not otherwise prescribe, the obligation to pay valuation expenses shall be determined as follows:

1. The persons who have requested the valuation must pay the valuation expenses if the valuation results prove that their requests are groundless.

2. The persons who do not accept the valuation requests must pay valuation expenses if the valuation results prove that the valuation requests are well-grounded.

3. In cases where the parties could not agree on the prices and request the courts to conduct the valuation, each party must pay half of the valuation expenses.

4. In cases where the courts issue decisions on valuation as provided for at Point b, Clause 1, Article 92 of this Code:

a) Each involved party must pay half of the valuation expenses if the valuation results prove that the courts' valuation decisions are well grounded.

b) The courts shall pay the valuation expenses if the valuation results prove that the courts' valuation decisions are groundless.

5. In cases where the valuation is conducted for the purpose of dividing a common property, each person who has received a share from such property must bear the valuation expense amount proportionate to the value of the property share he/she has received.

Article 143.- Expenses for witnesses

1. Reasonable and actual expenses for witnesses shall be borne by the involved parties.

2. The persons who request the courts to summon witnesses must bear the expenses for such witnesses, if the testimonies of the witnesses are true but not right for the demands of the person requesting to summon such witnesses. If the testimonies are true and right for the demands of the persons requesting to summon such witnesses, the expenses must be borne by the party making requests independent from the former's requests.

Article 144.- Expenses for interpreters and lawyers

1. Expenses for interpreters mean sum of money payable to interpreters in the course of settling civil cases or matters as agreed upon by the involved parties and the interpreters or stipulated by law.

2. Expenses for lawyers mean sums of money payable to lawyers as agreed upon by the involved parties and the lawyers within the prescribed scope of the lawyer's office and according to law provisions.

3. Expenses for interpreters or lawyers shall be borne by the persons requesting such interpreters or lawyers, except otherwise agreed upon by the parties.

4. Where the courts request interpreters, the expenses for the interpreters shall be paid by the courts.

Article 145.- Specific provisions on other procedural expenses

Specific expenses for expertises, valuation and specific expenses for witnesses, interpreters, lawyers shall be stipulated by the National Assembly Standing Committee.