The need to ensure the form of a contract to contribute money to play "hui" in Vietnam

In the appellate civil judgment No. 16/2018/DS-PT dated January 23, 2018 on a dispute between the plaintiff, Ms. Van Kieu N and the defendant, Ms. Nguyen Thi N1, with the following contents:

“ Mrs Nguyen Thi N1 participated in her hui for 10 days (50,000 VND each, 67 hui, hui open on October 4, 2016) and one half a month, hui 3,000,000 VND, opened on 15/03/2016, there are 35 hui Specifically:

On October 4, 2016, Ms. Nguyen Thi N1 played 10 hui. Ms. Nguyen Thi N1 collected on October 15, 2016 the amount of VND 30,300,000, then Ms. Nguyen Thi N1 closed hui died from the date of hui to 11/21/2016, from 11/21/2016 to the date of death on December 10, 2016 there are 19 remaining periods of death. Ms. Nguyen Thi N1 has not yet paid the amount of 9,500 000 dong.

The hui is 3,000,000 VND, once a month, there are 35 boxes, first opened on March 15, 2016 (lunar calendar), not satisfied, Ms. Nguyen Thi N1 collected the amount on March 30, 2016 84,660,000 VND (it is 480,000 VND) after collecting the hui, Mrs. Nguyen Thi N1 closed 15 periods of death (closed until November 15, 2016), from November 16, 2016 (the period from November 16, 2016). 16th) Mrs. Nguyen Thi N1 did not pay the hui of death until April 15, 2017 (the 25th opening period), Ms. Nguyen Thi N1 still owes 9 days of unpaid death, the amount of 27,000,000 VND. From April 15, 2017 to the end of the hui period, August 30, 2017, there are 9 more seasons of the hui with the amount of VND 27,000,000. The total amount of money that Ms. N1 did not pay when she died from November 16, 2016 to the date of death on August 30, 2017 was 18 periods equal to 54,000,000 VND. However, because this rope is not satisfied,

Ms. Nguyen Thi N1 did not agree to pay the debt due to Ms. Van Kieu N's lawsuit request because she thought that she did not participate in the game with Ms. Van Kieu N1. If you join the hui game, you must have a list of hui members and all members must sign the hui list. Ms. Van Kieu N's request was based only on the list of hui made by herself and the witnesses, the making of this list could be made by anyone, in addition, Ms. Van Kieu N did not have any evidence.”

At the appellate court hearing, the People's Court of Bac Lieu Province issued a decision not to accept the lawsuit claim of Ms. Van Kieu N demanding that Ms. Nguyen Thi N1 pay the sum of 27,000,000 VND for the 3,000,000 VND on March 15, 2016, the money was paid to April 15, 2017 and paid the amount of hui 9,500,000 VND of the hui 50,000, opened on October 4, 2016. Total: 36,500,000 VND.

There have been many cases of broken families, tontine leading to serious consequences, but the implementation of the law has not been really synchronized. The hui, wards are usually formed based on the acquaintance or trust among the participants, so the transactions are mostly done by word of mouth or the sketchy notes of the payment of hui or receipt of mone signature is not notarized or authenticated. And of course, when one party runs away with the money or the parties have a dispute, the above evidence are not enough legal basis for the Court to settle the case, the recovery the property of the parties. membership is downright difficult.

The law provides for the form of agreement between the family members, hui bieu, and wards in Article 7 of Decree 144/2006/ND-CP on tontine

Article 7. Forms of tontine agreement

Tontine agreement can be expressed verbally or in writing. Written agreements on tontine may be notarized or authenticated if so requested by members.

Therefore, at this time the law accepts both forms of their agreement, either orally or in writing. When there is no written agreement, the parties can still file a lawsuit if it proves the existence of an agreement between them.

However, the proof is very complicated and the chances of getting the lost money back are pretty slim. To overcome the unfortunate risks that may occur in Clause 1, Article 7 of Decree 19/2019/ND-CP on tontine, the form of agreement on hui must be made in writing.

Article 7. Forms of tontine agreement

1. The wire agreement they have is in writing. The written agreement on the wire they are notarized, authenticated if the participants ask them to.

...

The members of the hui band often rely on the relationship of acquaintance and mutual trust, so the notarization and authentication of transaction documents each time they contribute or withdraw is very little due to complicated and time-consuming procedures or they do not anticipate possible risks. The notarization of transactions is therefore also overlooked so that when a dispute occurs, those papers are authentic evidence that can be provided to the Court.

Understanding the legal provisions and strictly complying with the policies of the law is to ensure the rights and interests of individuals as well as to contribute to the state management of tontine.