What are rights of an owner to possess? What is possession in/not in good faith?

1. What is possession?

Rights of an owner to possess is considered one of the ownership rights as prescribed in Article 158 of the Civil Code 2015.

According to Article 179 of the Civil Code 2015, possession means that an entity holds and controls a property directly or indirectly as holder of rights to such property.

- Possession includes possession of owners and possession of non-owners.

The possession of non-owners may not be the basis for establishment of ownership, except for the cases prescribed in Articles 228, 229, 230, 231, 232, 233 and 236 of this Code.

Vietnam: What are rights of an owner to possess? What is possession in/not in good faith? (Internet image)

2. What is possession in/not in good faith?

- Pursuant to Article 180 of the Civil Code 2015, possession in good faith means the possession that the possessor has bases to believe that he/she has the right to the property under his/her possession.

- Pursuant to Article 181 of the Civil Code 2015, possession not in good faith means that the possession that the possessor knew or should have known that he/she has no right to the property under his/her possession.

3. Other forms of possession in Vietnam

- Continuous possession in Vietnam: (Article 182 of the Civil Code 2015)

+ Continuous possession of property is possession of property which occurs over a period of time without dispute relating to such property or with dispute but no effective judgment or decision on settlement of such dispute is issued, including the case when the property is delivered to another person for possession.

+ The non-continuous possession shall not be treated as the basis for presuming status and rights of possessors prescribed in Article 184 of the Civil Code 2015.

- Overt possession in Vietnam: (Article 183 of the Civil Code 2015)

+ Possession of property shall be deemed to be overt possession when it occurs in a transparent manner, without concealment; when property currently being possessed is used in accordance with its functions and usage and is preserved and retained by the possessor as if it were his or her own property.

+ The overt possession shall not be treated as the basis for presuming status and rights of possessors prescribed in Article 184 of this Code.

4. Presuming status and rights of possessors in Vietnam

Article 184 of the Civil Code 2015 stipulatesresuming status and rights of possessors as follows:

- Each possessor shall be presumed in good faith. If a person believes that such possessor is not in good faith, he/she must prove it.

- If there is a dispute over the rights to a property, the possessor of such property shall be presumed to have those rights. The disputing person must prove that the possessor have no right.

- A person possessing in good faith, continuously and overtly shall be eligible for prescriptive periods for enjoying the rights and enjoy the yield and income derived from the property as prescribed in this Code and relevant laws.

5. Protection of possession in Vietnam

When the possession is violated by another person, the possessor is entitled to, personally or through a court or a competent authority, compels the violator to terminate his/her violation, make restitution, return the property and compensate for any damage. (Based on Article 185 of the Civil Code 2015)

Nhu Mai

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