Authority to settle land disputes of People's Committees and Courts in Vietnam

Authority to settle land disputes of People's Committees and Courts in Vietnam

Pursuant to the provisions of Article 203 of the Land Law 2013, if the conciliation at a commune-level People’s Committee fails, a land dispute shall be settled as follows:

(1) The land dispute in which the concerned party possesses a certificate or any of the papers prescribed in Article 100 of the Land Law 2013 and the dispute over land-attached assets shall be settled by the People’s Court;

(2) For the land dispute in which the concerned party does not possess a certificate or any of the papers prescribed in Article 100 of the Land Law 2013, the parties may choose between the following two options of settlement:

- Filing a written request for dispute settlement with a competent People’s Committee as prescribed in (3);

- Filing a lawsuit with a competent People’s Court in accordance with the law on civil procedures;

(3) In case the concerned parties choose the option of settlement at a competent People’s Committee, the settlement is as follows:

- In case the dispute occurs among households, individuals and communities, the chairperson of the district-level People Committee is responsible for the settlement. If the concerned parties disagree with the settlement decision, they are entitled to lodge a complaint with the chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee or to file a lawsuit at a People’s Court in accordance with the law on administrative procedures;

- In case the dispute involves one party being an organization, a religious institution, an overseas Vietnamese or a foreign-invested enterprise, the chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee is responsible for the settlement. If the concerned parties disagree with the settlement decision, they are entitled to lodge a complaint with the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment or to file a lawsuit with a People’s Court in accordance with the law on administrative procedures;

(4) The person having competence to settle the land dispute as prescribed in (3) shall issue a settlement decision. The legally effective decision on dispute settlement must be strictly abided by the concerned parties. If the parties fail to comply, the decision shall be enforced.

Authority to settle land disputes of People's Committees and Courts in Vietnam (Internet image)

Regulations on conciliation of land disputes in Vietnam

Pursuant to the provisions of Article 202 of the Land Law 2013, the State shall encourage the disputing parties to conciliate themselves or have theừ land disputes settled through grassroots conciliation. in case the self-reconciliation fails, the parties may send a petition to the commune-level People’s Committee of the locality where the disputed land is located, for reconciliation.

Commune-level People’s Committee chairpersons shall organize conciliation of land disputes in their localities. In the process of conciliation, they shall coordinate with the commune-level Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee and its member organizations and other social organizations. The conciliation procedures carried out at the commune-level People’s Committees shall be completed within 45 days from the date the commune-level People’s Committees receive a petition for settlement of land dispute.

The conciliation process must be recorded in a written record with signatures of all parties and certified by the commune-level People’s Committee on the result, either a successful or unsuccessful conciliation. The conciliation minutes shall then be sent to the involved parties and archived at the commune-level People’s Committee concerned.

In case of successful conciliation which results in changes in the boundaries or land users, the commune-level People’s Committee shall send the conciliation minutes to the district-level Division of Natural Resources and Environment, for land disputes among households, individuals and communities, or to the provincial-level Department of Natural Resources and Environment, for other land disputes.

The district-level Division of Natural Resources and Environment or the provincial-level Department of Natural Resources and Environment shall submit the case to the People’s Committee of the same level for decision on recognizing the change in boundaries or renewing the certificate of land use rights, houses and other land-related assets ownership.

Mai Thanh Loi

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