After 6 years of implementation, the 2008 Law on Civil Judgment Execution has revealed many inadequacies and inconsistencies with practical life. In order to improve the efficiency of civil judgment execution, at the 8th Session of the 13th National Assembly, the Government of Vietnam submitted to the National Assembly for consideration and approval the Law amending and supplementing several articles of the 2008 Law on Civil Judgment Execution.
Article table of contents
Law amending and supplementing certain articles of the Law on Civil Judgment Enforcement was passed by the National Assembly, Term XIII, 8th Session, on November 25, 2014, and took effect on July 1, 2015. The Law has amended and supplemented 47 Articles; repealed Articles 32, 33, 34, 51, 138, 139, point b clause 1 Article 163, clauses 3 and 4 Article 179 of the 2008 Law on Civil Judgment Enforcement. Key points of the amendments and supplements include:
1. Expanding and detailing the rights and obligations of the judgment creditors, judgment debtors, and persons with relevant rights and obligations (Articles 7, 7a, and 7b).
The Law has expanded and facilitated the judgment creditors not only to request enforcement, partially or entirely suspend the judgment, apply security measures, and coercive measures for enforcement but also to receive notifications about enforcement, request the Court to clarify unclear points, correct typos, and errors in numbers in their judgments... This, along with the provision allowing delegation to others for verification and information provision on the conditions of the judgment debtors; transferring the enforcement rights to others has provided better conditions for parties to choose suitable methods for enforcement.
To ensure the interests of judgment creditors and debtors and enhance the impartiality, objectivity, and responsibility of the enforcers, the Law also stipulates that both can request the replacement of the enforcer in cases where there are grounds to believe that the enforcer is not impartial. This regulation is consistent with current provisions regarding the replacement of procedural conductors in criminal and civil procedures..., ensuring objectivity and efficiency in civil judgment enforcement.
The Law additionally provides for judgment creditors to be exempted or reduced enforcement fees in cases where they provide accurate information about the conditions of the judgment debtors and in other cases as specified by the Government of Vietnam. This is a significant progressive point, ensuring the best possible protection for judgment creditors' rights and interests, reducing costs and efforts for them, especially for the elderly, the poor, and those in different locations from the judgment debtors.
2. On the supervision of compliance with the law in civil judgment enforcement (clause 2 Article 12).
In clause 2, Article 12, the 2008 Law on Civil Judgment Enforcement only generally stipulated that “Prosecutor’s offices at all levels, within their tasks and powers, supervise the compliance with the law on enforcement of civil judgments by civil enforcement agencies, enforcers, agencies, organizations, and individuals related to judgment enforcement.” However, the amended Law now details specific rights of the People’s Procuracy, specifically:
- Supervising the issuance, transfer, explanation, correction, and supplementation of court judgments and decisions;- Requesting enforcers and civil judgment enforcement agencies at the same or lower levels to issue enforcement decisions, send enforcement decisions; enforce correct judgments and decisions; self-inspect enforcement and notify inspection results to the Procuracy; request agencies, organizations, and individuals to provide files, documents, and physical evidence related to enforcement as per this Law;- Directly supervising the civil enforcement activities of civil judgment enforcement agencies at the same or lower levels, enforcers, agencies, organizations, and related individuals; issuing supervisory conclusions when completing supervision;- Participating in court sessions deciding on the reduction or exemption of obligations to remit amounts to the state budget and expressing the opinion of the People’s Procuracy;- Proposing the consideration of acts and decisions related to enforcement that have minor legal violations of courts, civil judgment enforcement agencies at the same or lower levels, requesting rectification of legal violations, and handling violators; proposing that related agencies and organizations rectify loopholes, deficiencies in management activities leading to legal violations and apply preventive measures;- Protesting acts and decisions of heads and enforcers of civil judgment enforcement agencies at the same or lower levels in cases of serious legal violations infringing upon the interests of the State, legal rights, and interests of agencies, organizations, and individuals; requesting the suspension, revocation, amendment, supplementation, or cancellation of illegal decisions in enforcement and cessation of illegal acts.
3. On verifying the conditions for judgment enforcement (Articles 44, 44a, and 45).
To align with practical conditions, the amended Law shifts the duty of verifying enforcement conditions from the judgment creditor to the responsibility of the enforcer to reduce difficulties for the judgment creditor. If the verification results from the enforcer and the judgment creditor differ or if there is a protest from the Procuracy, re-verification must be conducted. Re-verification is carried out within 5 working days from the date of receiving the verification results from the parties involved or receiving the Procuracy’s protest.
To address the arbitrary verification in current enforcement practices, the Law stipulates that enforcers must present their enforcer card when verifying conditions; enforcers have the right to request expert agencies or invite/hire experts to clarify verification contents when necessary; directly examine properties, capital management books, properties, and verify at other agencies and organizations related to managing, preserving, and storing information on properties and accounts of the judgment debtors.
Regarding relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals such as Social Insurance, Banks, Credit Institutions… holding information or managing properties, the Law clearly specifies the responsibility to provide information, comply with the enforcer's requests, and take responsibility for the provided information content. If they refuse to provide, they must respond in writing and state reasons. The Law clearly stipulates the deadline for providing information to enforcers and judgment creditors.
To overcome practical inadequacies in the implementation of the 2008 Law on Civil Judgment Enforcement, Article 44a of the amended Law clarifies what constitutes "unavailable conditions for judgment enforcement." Specifically, unavailable enforcement conditions fall into one of three categories:
- First: The judgment debtor has no income or has an income that only ensures minimal living standards for themselves and those they are responsible for supporting and has no assets for enforcement or has assets but the asset value only covers enforcement costs or the law does not allow certain assets to be seized for enforcement;
- Second: The judgment debtor must return specific items, but the items are no longer available or are too damaged to be used; they must return documents, but the documents cannot be retrieved or reissued, and the parties have no other agreement;
- Third: The address or residence of the judgment debtor, or minors in custody of others, cannot be determined.
The public disclosure of information about judgment debtors in cases of unavailable enforcement conditions is also clearly regulated: Information such as name, address, enforcement obligations of the judgment debtor with unavailable enforcement conditions must be posted on the civil judgment enforcement website and sent to the commune-level People's Committee where verification was conducted for posting. When the judgment debtor has enforcement conditions, the enforcement agency must organize enforcement.
Above are some new points of the Law amending and supplementing certain articles of the 2008 Law on Civil Judgment Enforcement. With these specific amendments and supplements about the rights and obligations of agencies, organizations, and individuals in civil judgment enforcement, it is hoped that upon effectiveness, the effectiveness of civil judgment enforcement will improve, ensuring the legal rights and interests of the State, organizations, and individuals as per the law.
Source: vksbacgiang.gov.vn
