Distinguish between shared pathway and passage - Related judgment in Vietnam

The Lawnet would like to answer your questions as follows:

1. What is shared pathway? What is passageway?

- What is shared pathway?

Currently, Vietnamese law does not have any regulation regarding shared pathway. However, it can be understood that a shared pathway is an area of land that is cut off for land users to use as a way to go to a public roadway.

 - What is passage?

In contrast to the shared pathway, the passage and the right of passage are clearly defined by the Civil Code and the Land Law, specifically in Clause 1, Article 254 of Vietnam's Civil Code 2015:

"An owner of immoveable property which is surrounded by immoveable properties of other owners such that there is no exit has the right to request one of the owners of adjoining immoveable properties to provide it with a passage to a public road on their land."

2. How to distinguish between the shared pathway and the passage?

3. Some judgments on disputes over shared pathways

Judgment 30/2019/DS-PT dated March 20, 2019 on the shared pathway dispute

- Judicial body: Lam Dong Province People's Court

- Level of trial: Appellate

Cancel the People's Court of D R district, Lam Dong province's judgment No. 09/2018/DS-ST dated August 16, 2018 on the "dispute over the common path" between Mr. and Mrs. Ngo D. Th, Ms. Bui T Th1, and Mr. and Mrs. Le V T (Le V T T), Mrs. Phan Thi K S, whose related rights and obligations are Mr. and Mrs. Ha V B, Mrs. Pham T T1, Mr. and Mrs.

Judgment 19/2019/DSST-ST dated August 23, 2019 on the dispute over the right of shared pathway

- Judicial body: People's Court of Bao Lam district, Lam Dong province

- Level of trial: First instance

- Settlement result: Accepting the entire claim of plaintiff Ms. Tran Thi T about the "dispute over the right to a common path" against defendants Mr. and Mrs. Tran Dinh Th, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Kim Tr.

Judgment 01/2018/DS-PT dated January 17, 2018 on the dispute over the use of the shared pathway

- Judicial body: People's Court of Yen Bai province

- Level of trial: Appellate

- Settlement result: Accepting appeal requests of co-defendants: Mr. Nguyen Trong D., Ms. Tran Thi M., Cancellation of all first-instance civil judgments No. 04/2017/DS-ST dated September 19, 2017 of the People's Court of Y district, Yen Bai province and transfer of the case file to the People's Court of Y district to re-settle the case.

Judgment 132/2018/DS-PT dated October 12, 2018 on the dispute to reclaim the shared pathway

- Judicial body: People's Court of Soc Trang province

- Level of trial: Appellate

- The settlement result: accepting the appeal of the defendants Mr. Nguyen Hoang B1 and Ms. Truong Thi B2; correcting the first-instance civil judgment 29/2018/DS-ST dated June 19, 2018 of the People's Court of District Z, Soc Trang province on the "Dispute about reclaiming the shared pathway."

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