Vietnam: How is the compensation for damage caused by sources of extreme danger?

Hello Mr. Long, LawNet would like to answer your question as follows:

Compensation for damage caused by sources of extreme danger is a special type of liability because the damage is caused not by acts and by human error, but by the operation of things whose activity always have the potential to cause damage. However, in order to ensure the legitimate rights and interests of the victims, the law still forces the owner of the highly dangerous source to be responsible for compensation.

1. What are sources of extreme danger?

According to Article 601 of the Civil Code 2015 of Vietnam: “Sources of extreme danger comprise motorized means of transport, power transmission systems, operating industrial plants, weapons, explosives, inflammable substances, toxic substances, radioactive substances, dangerous animals and other sources of extreme danger as provided by law.”

2. How are sources of extreme danger identified?

Currently, Vietnamese law does not have any clear regulations on identifying sources of extreme danger. Previously, according to Guidelines of the Resolution No. 03/2006/NQ-HĐTP (expired), the sources of extreme danger were identified as follows:

- When means of transport, works, objects, substances or animals of any kind cause damage, in order to have grounds for the application of Clauses 2, 3 and 4 of Article 623 of the Civil Code 2015 of Vietnam to determine the liability to compensate for damage, the sources of causing harms must be identified to see if they are of extreme danger or not.

- The determination of sources of extreme danger should be based on Clause 1, Article 623 of the Civil Code 2015 of Vietnam and other relevant legal documents or regulations of competent state bodies in such specific domains. 

For example: In order to identify motorized means of land transport, the Law on Road Traffic of Vietnam must be based on. According to provisions of Point 13, Article 3 of the Law on Road Traffic of Vietnam, motorized means of land transport shall include automobiles, tractors, motorized two-wheelers, motorized three-wheelers, mopeds and the like, including motorized vehicles for disabled people.

3. How is the compensation for damage caused by sources of extreme danger?

According to Article 601 of the Civil Code 2015 of Vietnam, compensation for damage caused by sources of extreme danger is stipulated as follows:

- An owner of a source of extreme danger must comply strictly with the regulations on taking care of, preserving, transporting and using sources of extreme danger in accordance with law.

- An owner of a source of extreme danger must compensate for damage caused by such source. If the owner has transferred possession or use of the source of extreme danger to another person, such other person must compensate [for the damage], unless otherwise agreed.

- An owner, or person to which an owner has transferred the possession or use, of a source of extreme danger must compensate for damage caused by such source, even where such owner or person is not at fault, except in either of the following cases:

+ The aggrieved person is entirely at fault for intentionally causing the damage;

+ The damage occurred due to an event of force majeure or in an emergency situation, unless otherwise provided by law.

Moreover, according to Article 585 of the Civil Code 2015 of Vietnam, compensation for damage caused by sources of extreme danger must follow the following principles:

- Actual damage must be compensated in full and promptly. The compensation comes from the principle of fairness, the compensation will be according to the amount of damage.

- The compensation payable by a person having caused damage may be reduced if such damage was caused unintentionally and is very large in comparison to the financial positions of such person.

- If the amount of compensation determined becomes unrealistic, the aggrieved person, or the person having caused damage, has the right to request a court or another competent authority to change the amount of compensation.

- If the aggrieved party is partly his/her fault for causing the damage, that part of damage shall not be compensated.

- The party having rights and interests infringed shall not be compensated if such damage incurs due to his/her failure to adopt necessary measures to prevent the damage.

4. Some judgments on compensation for damage caused by sources of extreme danger

Judgment No. 02/2018/ST-DS on dispute for compensation for loss of life caused by sources of extreme danger 

Judgment No. 29/2018/KDTM-PT dated January 11, 2018 on dispute for compensation for damage caused by sources of extreme danger

Judgment No. 08/2019/DS-PT on dispute for compensation for loss of assets caused by sources of extreme danger 

Judgment No. 125/2019/DS-PT on dispute for compensation for damage caused by sources of extreme danger

Judgment No. 52/2020/DSPT dated June 23, 2020 on dispute for compensation for damage caused by sources of extreme danger

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