Do minors under 15 years old need their parents' consent to buy a phone with their lucky money in Vietnam?

Hello, Lawnet would like to answer as follows:

Do minors under 15 years old need their parents' consent to buy a phone with their lucky money in Vietnam?

Pursuant to the provisions of Article 21 of the Civil Code 2015, minors according to the law are understood as follows:

- Minors are persons who are under eighteen years of age.

- Civil transactions of each child under six years of age shall be established and performed by his/her legal representative.

- Each person who is from six to under eighteen years of age must have the consent of his/her legal representative to enter in and perform civil transactions, except for civil transactions which are performed for the purpose of meeting the needs of daily life suitable for the age group.

- Each person who is from fifteen to under eighteen years of age is entitled to enter in and perform civil transactions by himself/herself, except for civil transactions related to real estate, movables required registration and other civil transactions as prescribed by law that are subject to the consent of his/her legal representative.

Thus, when establishing and performing civil transactions, people under 15 years old must have the consent of their legal representative, except in cases where the civil transaction serves daily living needs appropriate to their age.

When a person under 15 years old uses lucky money to buy a phone, it means they have performed a civil transaction, and buying a phone is not a civil transaction to serve that person's daily needs.

Therefore, when buying a phone with lucky money or savings, people under 15 years old need permission from a legal representative.

Legal representatives are specified in Clause 1, Article 136 of the Civil Code 2015, including:

+ The father and/or mother with respect to a minor.

+ The guardian with respect to a ward. The guardian of a person with limited cognition and behavior control is a legal representative if appointed by a court.

+ The person appointed by a court in case where it is not able to determine the representative prescribed in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of Article 136 of the Civil Code 2015.

+ The person appointed by a court with respect to a person with limited legal capacity.

Therefore, people under 15 years old who want to buy a phone with lucky money must first ask their parents' permission. If parents agree, they are allowed to buy a phone to use.

Is it possible to return the phone when the parents do not give their permission to buy it?

According to Article 117 of the Civil Code 2015, conditions for effective civil transactions are as follows:

- A civil transaction shall be effective when it satisfies all of the following conditions:

= Participants in the transaction have legal personality and/or legal capacity in conformity with such transaction;

= Participants in the transaction act entirely voluntarily;

= The purpose and contents of the transaction are not contrary to the law and/or social ethics.

Along with that, based on the provisions of Article 125 of the Civil Code 2015, the regulations on the invalidity of civil transactions established and performed by minors or legally incapacitated persons or persons with limited cognition and behavior control or persons with limited legal capacity are as follows:

1. When a civil transaction is established or performed by a minor, a legally incapacitated person, a person with limited cognition and behavior control, or a person with limited legal capacity, a court shall, at the request of the representative of that person, declare such transaction invalid, if it is provided for by law that such transaction must be established and performed by or with the consent of the representative of that person, except for the cases prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article.

2. A civil transaction of a person prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article shall not be invalid in any of the following cases:

a) The civil transaction of a child less than 6 years of age or a legally incapacitated person established for his/her daily needs;

b) The civil transaction only either arising rights or exempting from obligations for the minor, the legally incapacitated person, the person with limited cognition and behavior control, the person with limited legal capacity and their contracting parties;

c) The civil transaction of which validity is recognized by the person established such transaction that become an adult or restore his/her legal capacity.

Because a phone transaction is not considered a transaction to meet the daily essential needs of a person under 14 years old, parents can request that this transaction be declared invalid.

When a civil transaction is declared invalid, the two parties will refund what they received during the purchase and sale process, as stipulated in Article 131 of the Penal Code 2015.

Best regards!

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