What is time limit for requesting court to declare civil transactions invalid due to compulsion in Vietnam?

What is time limit for requesting court to declare civil transactions invalid due to compulsion in Vietnam?

Article 407 of the 2015 Civil Code has the following provisions:

1. The provisions on invalid civil transactions in Articles 123 to 138 inclusive of this Code shall also govern invalid contracts.

2. Invalidity of a principal contract shall terminate an ancillary contract, unless the parties agree that the ancillary contract replaces the principal contract. This provision shall not apply with respect to security for the performance of civil obligations.

3. Invalidity of an ancillary contract shall not terminate the principal contract, unless the parties agree that the ancillary contract is an inseparable part of the principal contract.

Article 127 of the 2015 Civil Code provides that invalidity of civil transactions due to deception, threat or compulsion as follows:

Any party entering into a civil transaction as a result of deception, threat or compulsion has the right to request a court to declare such transaction invalid.

Deception in a civil transaction means an intentional act of a party or a third person for the purpose of misleading the other party as to the subject, the nature of the entity or contents of the civil transaction which has caused the other party to enter into such transaction.

Threat or compulsion in a civil transaction means an intentional act of a party or a third person which compels the other party to conduct the civil transaction in order to avoid danger to the life, health, honor, reputation, dignity and/or property or that of its relatives.

Pursuant to Article 132 of the 2015 Civil Code, time limit for requesting court to declare civil transactions invalid is as follows:

1. The time limit within which a request may be made to a court to declare a civil transaction invalid as specified in Articles 125 thru 129 of this Code shall be two years as from the date on which:

a) The representative of a minor, a legally incapacitated person, a person with limited cognition and behavior control or a person with limited legal capacity knows and should know the ward established and/or performed the transaction himself/herself.

b) The mistaken or cheated person in a transaction knows and should know that such transaction is established due to misunderstanding or cheating;

c) The person that threatened or compelled other persons in a transaction put an end to such acts;

d) The person lacking in cognition and behavior control establishes his/her transaction;

dd) The civil transaction is established in non-compliance with form.

2. After the time limit prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, if there is still no request for declaring civil transaction invalid, such transaction still remains valid.

3. For civil transactions specified in Articles 123 and 124 of this Code, the time limit for requesting a court to declare such civil transactions invalid shall not be restricted.

Thus, according to the above provisions in Vietnam, within 2 years from the date the person forced you to sign a loan contract, you have the right to ask the court to declare your contract invalid.

What is protection of the interests of bona fide third parties with regard to invalid civil transactions in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 133 of the 2015 Civil Code, which provides for protection of the interests of bona fide third parties with regard to invalid civil transactions as follows:

1. In cases where a civil transaction is invalid but the transacted property being a moveable property is not required to be registered and such property has already been transferred to a bona fide third party through another transaction, the transaction with the third party shall remain valid, except for the case specified in Article 167 of this Code.

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.

According to this Article, the protection of the interests of bona fide third parties with regard to invalid civil transactions in Vietnam will be carried out in accordance with the above provisions.

Best Regards!