Regulations on settlement of civil cases according to simplified procedures in Vietnam

Regulations on settlement of civil cases according to simplified procedures in Vietnam (Internet image)

1. Scope of application of simplified procedures in Vietnam

Pursuant to Article 316 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015, the scope of application of simplified procedures is as follows:

 Simplified procedures are procedures that are applied to resolve civil lawsuits which fully satisfy conditions specified in Civil Procedure Code 2015 in simpler procedures than common civil lawsuit resolution procedures to resolve the cases quickly but still ensure the compliance with law.

2. Conditions for application of simplified procedures in Vietnam

In Article 317 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015, conditions for application of simplified procedures are as follows:

- The Court shall resolve a case according to simplified procedure when all of the following conditions are satisfied:

+ The case has simple details, clear legal relationship and the involved parties have admitted their obligations; materials and evidences are sufficient, ensuring the sufficiency of grounds for the resolution of the case and the Court does not have to collect materials/evidences;

+ Addresses of residence and headquarters of all of involved parties are determined;

+ None of involved parties reside overseas and there are no properties being in dispute are in foreign countries, unless the involved parties residing overseas and the ones residing in Vietnam have reached agreements to request the Courts to resolve the cases according to simplified procedures or the involved parties have presented evidences about the legitimate right to ownership towards the properties and have reached agreements about the handling of the properties.

- Regarding labor cases that have been accepted and settled according to simplified procedures, if the employers having foreign nationalities or their lawful representatives have left their residence/headquarter addresses that have been priorly declared without notification to other involved parties and the Courts, such entities shall be considered to conceal their addressees on purpose. The Courts shall continue resolving the cases according to simplified procedure specified in this Part.

- During the preparation for the resolution of the cases according to simplified procedures, if any of the following details is detected and, as the result, the cases no longer eligible for resolution according to simplified procedures, the Courts shall make decisions to resolve the cases according to common procedures:

+ New details are found out but the involved parties cannot reach agreements and therefore such details need verification, more materials and evidences need to be collected and expertises need to be conducted;

+ Involved parties cannot reach agreements about the prices of the properties being in dispute and such properties shall be subject to price assessment/appraisal;

+ Cases where provisional emergency measures must be applied;

+ New persons with relevant interests and duties are found out;

+ New counter-claims or independent claims are found out;

+ New involved parties who reside overseas, properties in dispute that are in foreign countries, requirements for verification or collection of evidences from foreign countries subject to request for judicial assistance, except for cases specified in point c clause 1 of this Article.

- If the cases are transferred for resolution according to common procedures, the duration for preparation for the resolution of the cases shall be re-counted from the day on which the decisions to transfer the cases for resolution according to common procedures are issued.

3. Decisions to bring cases to trial for resolution according to simplified procedures in Vietnam

The decision to bring the case to trial according to simplified procedures specified in Article 318 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015 provides as follows:

-  Within 01 month from the day on which the cases are accepted according to regulations in clauses 3 and 4 Article 195 of Civil Procedure Code 2015, the Judge who are assigned to resolve the case must make decisions to bring the cases to trial for resolution according to simplified procedures and shall hold the trials within 10 days from the day on which the decisions are issued.

- A decision to bring a case to trial for resolution according to simplified procedures shall include the following main contents:

+ Date of issuing the decision;

+ Name of the Courts making the decision;

+ The case that is brought to trial for resolution according to simplified procedure;

+ Names, addresses; phone numbers, fax numbers, e-mail addresses (if any) of the plaintiffs, the defendants or agencies, organizations or individuals initiating lawsuits specified in Article 187 of this Code and persons with relevant interests and duties;

+ Full names of the Judge, the Court clerk; full name of the alternate Judge (if any);

+ Full name of the procurator; full name of the alternate procurator (if any);

+ Date, time and place of holding the Court session;

+ Whether the session is open trial or closed trial;

+ Full names of persons summoned to the Court session.

- The decisions to bring the case to trial for resolution according to simplified procedures shall be immediately sent to involved parties and procuracies of the same levels.

If the procuracies participate in the Court sessions according to regulations in clause 2 Article 21 of Civil Procedure Code 2015, the Courts shall send the case files and the decisions to bring the cases to trial to procuracies of the same levels.

Within 03 working days from the day on which the case files are received, the procuracies shall study the files and return them to the Courts.

4. Complaints, recommendations about decisions to bring cases to trial for resolution according to simplified procedures in Vietnam

Article 319 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015  stipulates complaints, recommendations about decisions to bring cases to trial for resolution according to simplified procedures in Vietnam as follows:

- Within 03 working days from the day on which the decisions to bring the cases to trial for resolution according to simplified procedures are received, involved parties may file complaints and the procuracies of the same levels may file recommendations to the Chief Justices of the Courts issuing such decisions.

- Within 03 working days from the day on which the complaints/recommendations about the decisions to bring the cases to trial for resolution according to simplified procedures are received, the Courts shall issue one of the following decisions:

+ To uphold the decision to bring the case to trial for resolution according to simplified procedures;

+ To repeal the decision to bring the case to trial for resolution according to simplified procedure and transfer the case for resolution according to common procedures.

- The decisions on resolution of complaints/recommendations issued by the Courts shall be the final ones and must be immediately sent to the involved parties and the procuracies of the same levels.

5. Court sessions conducting simplified procedures in Vietnam

Court sessions conducting simplified procedures in Vietnam prescribed in Article 320 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015 is as follows:

- Involved parties, procurators of procuracies of the same levels must attend the Court sessions conducting simplified procedures. If the procurators are absent, the trial panels shall still hold the session. Involved parties may apply for trial in their absence.

If the defendants or the persons with relevant interests and duties are absent without good and sufficient reasons though have been duly summoned, the Court sessions shall be still carried out by the Judge.

- The Judge shall carry out the opening of the Court sessions according to regulations in Article 239 of Civil Procedure Code 2015.

- When the Court sessions have been opened, the Judge shall conduct mediation process, except for cases must not be mediated specified in Article 206 and cases cannot be mediated specified in Article 207 of Civil Procedure Code 2015.

If the involved parties can reach agreements about matters to be resolved in the cases, the Judge shall issue decisions to recognize such agreements as provided for in Article 212 of Civil Procedure Code 2015. If the involved parties fail to reach agreements about such matters, the Judge shall conduct the resolution process.

The presentation, argument, question and answer and suggestion about the resolution of the cases shall comply with regulations in Section 3 Chapter XIV of Civil Procedure Code 2015.

- If at the Court sessions, new details detected as prescribed in clause 3 Article 317 of Civil Procedure Code 2015 make the cases no longer eligible for resolution according to simplified procedures, then the Judge shall consider issuing decisions to transfer the cases for resolution according to common procedures.

In these cases, time limit for preparation for the resolution of the cases shall be counted according to regulations in clause 4 Article 317 of Civil Procedure Code 2015.

6. Effect of judgments/decisions made according to simplified procedures in Vietnam

Pursuant to Article 321 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015, the effect of judgments and decisions according to summary procedures is as follows:

- First-instance judgments/decisions of the Courts made according to simplified procedures can be appealed against according to appellate procedures to request the first-instance Courts to re-settle the cases according to appellate simplified procedures.

- Judgments/decisions made according to simplified procedures can be appealed against according to cassation/reopening procedures as provided for in Civil Procedure Code 2015.

Ngoc Nhi

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