Chương XXVII Bộ luật Tố tụng dân sự 2004: Thủ tục xét đơn yêu cầu công nhận và cho thi hành tại Việt Nam bản án, quyết định dân sự của toà án nước ngoài

Chapter XXVII

PROCEDURES FOR CONSIDERATION OF PETITIONS FOR RECOGNITION AND ENFOREMENT IN VIETNAM OF CIVIL JUDGMENTS OR DECISIONS OF FOREIGN COURTS

Article 350.- Petitions for recognition and enforcement in Vietnam of civil judgments or decisions of foreign courts

1. Petitions for recognition and enforcement in Vietnam of civil judgments or decisions of foreign courts must be filed to the Vietnamese Ministry of Justice and contain the following principal details:

a) Full names and addresses of residence places or work places of the judgment creditors or their lawful representatives; if the judgment creditors are agencies or organizations, the full names and addresses of their head-offices must be fully inscribed;

b) Full names and addresses of residence places or work places of the judgments debtors; if the judgments debtors are agencies or organizations, the full names and addresses of their the head-offices must be fully inscribed; in cases where the judgment debtors being individuals have no so residence places or work places in Vietnam or the judgment debtors being agencies or organizations have no head-offices in Vietnam, their petitions must also specify the addresses of the places where exist the properties and assorted assets relating to the enforcement of foreign courts’ civil judgments or decisions in Vietnam.

c) Requests of judgment creditors; where foreign courts’ judgments or decisions have been partly enforced, the judgment creditors must clearly state the executed parts and the remaining parts requested for recognition and continued enforcement in Vietnam.

3. Petitions in foreign languages must be enclosed with their Vietnamese versions which are duly notarized or authenticated.

Article 351.- Papers, documents accompanying the petitions

1. The petitions shall be accompanied by papers and documents provided for in international treaties which Vietnam has signed or acceded to. In cases where such international treaties do not so provide for or are not available, the petitions must be accompanied by duly certified copies of the foreign courts’ judgments or decisions; documents certifying that such judgments or decisions have taken effect, have not expired and should be enforced in Vietnam, except where these details have already been clearly stated in the judgments or decisions; documents certifying that copies of the judgments or decisions have been sent to the judgment debtors who have to execute such judgments or decisions. In cases where the judgment debtors or their lawful representatives are absent from foreign courts’ hearings, documents certifying that they have been duly summoned are required.

2. Papers, documents accompanying the petitions which are made in foreign languages, must be enclosed with their Vietnamese versions which are duly notarized or authenticated.

Article 352.- Transferring dossiers to courts

The Ministry of Justice must, within seven days after receiving the petitions and accompanying papers and/or documents, transfer dossiers to competent courts as provided for in Articles 34 and 35 of this Code.

Article 353.- Receiving dossiers and requesting additional explanations

1. Within three working days as from the date of receiving the dossiers transferred by the Ministry of Justice, the competent courts must accept them and notify the procuracies of the same level thereof.

2. The courts shall, within the time limit for preparing to consider the petitions, have the right to request the petitioners or the foreign courts which have rendered the judgments or decisions to explain unclear matters in the dossiers.

The written requests for additional explanations and written replies shall be sent via the Vietnamese Ministry of Justice.

3. Within seven days after receiving the written requests for additional explanations from Vietnamese courts, the Ministry of Justice shall forward such requests to the petitioners or to the foreign courts.

4. Within seven days after receiving the written explanations, the Ministry of Justice shall forward them to the Vietnamese courts which have requested such written explanations.

Article 354.- Preparation for petition consideration

1. The courts shall, within four months after receiving the petitions, make one of the following decisions, depending on each specific case:

a) To stop the petition consideration if the petitioners withdraw their petitions or the judgment debtors have voluntarily executed the judgments or decisions or the judgment debtors being individuals have died and their rights and obligations have not been inherited; or if the judgment debtors being agencies or organizations have been dissolved or have gone bankrupt and their rights and obligations have been dealt with under the provisions of Vietnamese laws;

b) To stop the petition consideration and return the dossiers to the Ministry of Justice in cases where such petitions do not fall under their jurisdiction or the judgment debtors’ addresses or the places where exist the assets related to the judgment cannot be identified;

c) To open meeting to consider the petition.

In cases where the courts request additional explanations as provided for in Clause 2, Article 353 of this Code, the time limit for petition consideration preparation shall be extended for two more months.

2. The courts must open meetings within one month after the issuance of the decisions to open meetings to consider the petitions.

The courts shall forward the dossiers to the procuracies of the same level for study within fifteen days before the opening of court meetings. At the end of this time limit, the procuracies of the same level must return the dossiers to the courts for opening meetings to consider the petitions.

Article 355.- Meetings to consider petitions

1. Petition shall be considered at a meeting conducted by a Panel consisting of three judges, one of whom shall act as the presiding judge under the court’s chief judge’s assignment.

2. The procurators of the procuracy of the same level must participate in the meeting; in cases where the procurators are absent, the meeting must be postponed.

3. The meeting shall be conducted in the presence of the judgment debtors or their lawful representatives; if they are absent for the first time for plausible reasons, the meeting must be postponed.

The petition consideration shall still proceed if the judgment debtors or their lawful representatives have filed their petitions requesting the courts to consider the petitions in their absence or if they have been duly summoned twice but are still absent.

4. The Panel shall not re-try the case but only examine and compare the civil judgment or decision of a foreign court and the papers, documents attached to the petition with relevant provisions of Vietnamese law and international treaties which Vietnam has signed or acceded to in order to make decision.

5. After having considered the petition and the attached papers and documents and listened to the opinions of the summoned people and the procurator, the Panel shall discuss and decide the case by majority.

The Panel shall have the right to issue a decision to recognize and enforce in Vietnam or not to recognize the civil judgment or decision of a foreign court.

Article 356.- Foreign courts’ civil judgments or decisions which shall not be recognized and enforced in Vietnam:

1. The civil judgments or decisions which have not yet taken legal effect under the provisions of law of the countries where the courts have rendered such judgments or decisions.

2. The judgment debtors or their lawful representatives were absent from court sessions of foreign courts because they had not been duly summoned.

3. The cases fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Vietnamese court.

4. There has been a legally effective civil judgment or decision on the same case, that has been made by the Vietnamese court or by the foreign court but has been recognized and permitted by the Vietnamese court for enforcement in Vietnam or the Vietnamese court has accepted and been settling the case before it is accepted by a foreign court.

5. The statutes of limitation for judgment execution have expired under the law of the countries where the courts rendered such civil judgments or decisions or under Vietnamese law.

6. The recognition and enforcement in Vietnam of the judgments or decisions of foreign courts are contrary to fundamental principles of the Vietnamese law.

Article 357.- Sending decisions of courts

As soon as decisions are issued under Articles 354 and 355 of this Code, the courts must immediately send them to the involved parties and the procuracies of the same level. If the involved parties reside overseas, the decisions will be delivered to them through the Ministry of Justice.

Article 358.- Appeal and protest

1. Within fifteen days as from the date the courts make decisions under Articles 354 and 355 of this Code, the involved parties or their lawful representatives are entitled to appeal against such decisions. In cases where the involved parties or their lawful representatives are not present at the meetings to consider the petitions, the appeal time limit shall be counted from the date they receive such decisions. The appeals must clearly state the reasons for and the requests of the appeals.

In cases where force majeure events or objective obstacles have disabled the involved parties or their lawful representatives to lodge their appeals within the above time limit, the duration in which the force majeure events or objective obstacles exist shall not be included in the time limit for appeal.

2. The procuracies of the same level or the Supreme People’s Procuracy shall be entitled to protest against court decisions prescribed in Articles 354 and 355 of this Code.

The time limit for protest by the procuracies of the same level shall be fifteen days and by the Supreme People’s Procuracy shall be thirty days, counting from the date the court make such decision.

Article 359.- Consideration of appeals, protests

1. The Supreme People’s Court shall review decisions of the provincial-level people’s courts, which are appealed or protested against, within one month as from the date of receipt of the dossiers. In case of requesting the clarification as provided for in Article 353 of this Code, this time limit shall be prolonged but must not exceed two months.

2. The composition of a Panel set up to review an appealed or protested decision shall consist of three judges, one of whom shall be assigned by the chief judge of the appeal court of the Supreme People’s Court to act as the presiding judge.

The meeting to review the appealed or protested decision shall be conducted like the meeting to consider petitions, prescribed in Article 355 of this Code.

3. The Panel shall be entitled to uphold, amend part or whole of the decision of the provincial level people’s court or to stop the consideration of the appeal or protest if the involved party withdraws his/her appeal or the procuracy withdraws its protest or if there appears one of the grounds specified at Point a, Clause 1, Article 354 of this Code.

The decision rendered by the Supreme People’s Court shall be final one and take implementation effect.