Cases of non-applicability of prescriptive periods in Vietnam

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What is a prescriptive period?

Civil Code 2015 of Vietnam defines the concept of prescriptive periods as follows:

A prescriptive period for initiating legal action is the time limit within which an entity has the right to initiate legal action to request a court to resolve a civil case to protect the infringed legal rights or interests of the entity.

A court only applies provisions in terms of prescriptive periods at the request of a party or the parties provided that such request is filed before the first trial court of first instance gives a judgment and/or a decision on settlement.

The person benefiting from the application of the prescriptive period may refuse to apply such prescriptive period, unless such refusal is aimed at evading his/her obligations.

Clause 3, Article 150 of the Civil Code stipulates:

"A prescriptive period for initiating legal action is the time limit within which an entity has the right to initiate legal action to request a court to resolve a civil case to protect the infringed legal rights or interests of the entity. When such time limit expires, the right to initiate such legal action shall be lost."

The starting time of prescriptive period for initiating legal action as follows:

"Article 154. Commencement of prescriptive periods for initiating legal action for civil cases and prescriptive periods for requesting resolution of civil cases

1. The commencement of the prescriptive period for initiating legal action for a civil case shall be calculated from the date on which the eligible person knows or should know that his/her legal rights or interests are infringed, unless otherwise provided by law.

2. The commencement of the prescriptive period for requesting resolution of a civil case shall be calculated from the date when the right to request arises, unless otherwise provided by law."

Thus, a prescriptive period for initiating legal action is the time limit within which an entity has the right to initiate legal action to request a court to resolve a civil case. When such time limit expires, the right to initiate such legal action shall be lost. The commencement of the prescriptive period for initiating legal action for a civil case shall be calculated from the date on which the eligible person knows or should know that his/her legal rights or interests are infringed, unless otherwise provided by law.

Cases of non-applicability of prescriptive periods

Article 155 of the Civil Code 2015 stipulates cases where the prescriptive periods does not apply. A prescriptive period for initiating legal action for a civil case shall not apply in any of the following cases:

- Request for the protection of personal rights not associated with property;

- Request for the protection of ownership rights, unless otherwise provided by this Code or relevant laws.

- Dispute over land use right as prescribed in the Law on land;

- Other cases as provided by law.

In addition, there may be a special period between the beginning and the end of the prescriptive period for initiating legal action. Those are the time periods when one of the following events prescribed in Article 156 of the Civil Code occurs:

(1) An event of force majeure or other objective hindrance which renders the person with the right to initiate legal action for a civil case or make the request not able to do so within the prescriptive period.

An event of force majeure is an event which occurs in an objective manner which is not able to be foreseen and which is not able to be remedied by all possible necessary and admissible measures being taken.

An objective hindrance is a hindrance which in an objective context results in a person with civil rights or obligations not knowing that his or her lawful rights and interests have been infringed or not being able to exercise his or her rights or fulfill his or her civil obligations;

(2) The person with the right to initiate legal action for a civil case or to make the request is a minor or a legally incapacitated person, a person with limited cognition and behavior control or a person with limited legal capacity, and does not yet have a representative.

(3) The representative of a minor or a legally incapacitated person, a person with limited cognition and behavior control or a person with limited legal capacity has not yet been replaced when the representative being natural person dies or the representative being juridical person ceases to or for good reasons, cannot continue his/her representation.

Cases of re-commencement of prescriptive period for initiating legal action

Article 157 of the Civil Code 2015 stipulates:

"The prescriptive period for initiating legal action for a civil case shall re-commence in any of the following cases:

a) The obligor has acknowledged part or all of its obligations to the plaintiff;

b) The obligor has acknowledged or fulfilled part of its obligations to the plaintiff;

c) The parties have become reconciled.

The prescriptive period for initiating legal action for a civil case shall re-commence from the date following the date on which the event provided in clause 1 of this Article occurs."

Thus, according to the principle, the prescriptive periods for instituting a civil case is counted from the date the claimant knows or should know that his/her lawful rights and interests have been infringed. However, in some of the cases mentioned above, the prescriptive periods for initiating a civil case is resumed and the date of commencement is counted as the day following the date of the occurrence of such events.

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