Is it necessary to return disputed land when the third party has transferred the name on the certificate in Vietnam?

Is it necessary to return disputed land when the third party has transferred the name on the certificate in Vietnam?

Dear lawyer. In 2009, my father passed away, leaving a will for me to enjoy all of his land use rights. By 2017 I had completed the procedures for transferring my name on the Land Use Right Certificate for me. By 2018, I had transferred the land to someone else, had legal papers and had the Certificate transferred to my name. Recently, my siblings returned to dispute the land and requested that the will my father made for me be declared invalid. So, in this case, does the 3rd party have to return the land?

Reply:

Pursuant to Clause 2, Clause 3, Article 133 of the 2015 Civil Code stipulates:

2. In cases where a civil transaction is invalid but the transacted property is registered at a competent authority and such property has already been transferred to a bona fide third party through another transaction which is established according to that registration, such transaction shall remain valid.

In cases where the transacted property which is required to be registered has not registered at a competent authority, the transaction with the third party shall be invalid, except for cases the bona fide third party received such property through an auction or a transaction with an another party being the owner of such property pursuant to a judgment or decision of a competent authority but thereafter such person is not the owner of the property as a result of the judgment or decision being amended or annulled.

3. The owner of a property shall have no right to reclaim the property from the bona fide third party if the transaction with such party remains valid as prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article, but the owner may proceed against the party at fault to refund appropriate expenses and compensate for his/her damage.

Thus, when you transfer land to another person, you have been granted a Land Use Rights Certificate, so that person is determined to be a bona fide third person. Whether your father's will is declared invalid or not does not affect this third person's right to use the land. Because land is an asset that must have its use rights registered at a competent state agency. So after receiving the transfer of your land, that person has completed the procedure to transfer the name of the Certificate, the transaction between you and that person is not invalid.

Does statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit not apply to disputes over land use rights in Vietnam?

Please confirm for me the information: Does statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit not apply to disputes over land use rights in Vietnam?

Reply:

Pursuant to Clause 3, Article 155 of the 2015 Civil Code stipulates as follows:

A prescriptive period for initiating legal action for a civil case shall not apply in any of the following cases:

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

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

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

4. Other cases as provided by law.

Thus, when it comes to disputes over land use rights under the provisions of the Land Law in Vietnam, the statute of limitations does not apply.

What is handling for land disputes between brothers and uncles in Vietnam? 

The thing is that the land and house I live in used to be left to my grandfather by my grandparents, and my grandfather passed away and left it to my father. Currently, the ownership documents in the certificate are in my father's name. Recently, there was a people called their father's uncles and brothers (not biological brothers), called their grandfathers uncles, they lived far away, now they came back demanding to divide the land, saying it was their grandparents' land and threatening, my family, my father and the members do not agree, currently the legal documents of ownership are in my father's name. So let me ask the other person, they asked to divide the land just because of the old grandparents' land, but the documents are in my father's name so may I ask if there is any problem? According to the law, who is right and who is wrong?

Reply:

Clause 1, Article 650 of the 2015 Civil Code stipulates:

Inheritance by law applies in the following cases: There is no will.

And according to Article 651 of the 2015 Civil Code:

1. Heirs at law are categorized in the following order of priority:

a) The first level of heirs comprises: spouses, biological parents, adoptive parents, offspring and adopted children of the deceased;

b) The second level of heirs comprises: grandparents and siblings of the deceased; and biological grandchildren of the deceased;

c) The third level of heirs comprises: biological great-grandparents of the deceased, biological uncles and aunts of the deceased and biological nephews and nieces of the deceased.

2. Heirs at the same level shall be entitled to equal shares of the estate.

3. Heirs at a lower level shall be entitled to inherit where there are no heirs at a higher level because such heirs have died, or because they are not entitled to inherit, have been deprived of the right to inherit or have disclaimed the right to inherit.

So, here it is necessary to clarify the origin of the land and did the grandparents leave a will or not? If you do not leave a will, your grandparents' estate will be divided according to law to the heirs in order of each line of inheritance in Vietnam. If there is no will, the children will receive the inheritance left by their parents. Only if there are no children and people in the first line of inheritance will the next line of inheritance proceed.

Best regards!