Vietnam: Mediation, dialogue at the Court and 04 things you should know

Vietnam: Mediation, dialogue at the Court and 04 things you should know (Internet image)

1. What is mediation and dialogue at the Court?

Mediation at court refers to mediation activity conducted by a Mediator before the court accepts a civil case in order to assist parties in mediation to negotiate the civil case settlement as per the Law on mediation or dialogue at the Court in 2020.

Dialogue at court means a dialogue conducted by a mediator before the court accepts an administrative case, in order to assist the parties in dialogue to negotiate the settlement of administrative lawsuit as per the Law on mediation or dialogue at the Court in 2020.

(Clause 2, 3, Article 2 of the Law on mediation or dialogue at the Court in 2020.)

2. Principles of mediation or dialogue at court in Vietnam

- Parties in mediation or dialogue (hereinafter referred to as parties) must voluntarily participate in mediation or dialogue.

- Respect the willingness and agreement of the parties; it is forbidden to force the parties to agree against their will.

- Ensure equality of rights and obligations between the parties.

- The content of a mediation or dialogue agreement does not violate the prohibition of the law, is not contrary to social morality, is not intended to evade obligations to the State or other agencies, organizations or individuals, and does not infringe lawful rights and interests of other entities.

- Information relating to mediation or dialogue must be kept confidential in accordance with Article 4 of this Law.

- Methods of mediation or dialogue are conducted flexibly and in accordance with the actual situation and features of each type of case.

- Mediators shall conduct mediation or dialogue in an independent manner and in accordance with law.

- The spoken and written language used in mediation or dialogue is Vietnamese. Participants in mediation or dialogue have the right to use the spoken and written language of their ethnic group; in this case, they may, by themselves or request the mediator to, engage an interpreter for them.

Participants in mediation or dialogue are people who have hearing, speech, or vision disabilities have the right to use language, symbols and words dedicated for people with disabilities; in this case, sign language interpreters, oral interpreters, or cued-speech interpreters must be engaged.

- Ensuring gender equality, protecting children's legitimate rights and interests in mediation or dialogue.

(Article 3 of the Law on mediation or dialogue at the Court in 2020)

3. Confidentiality of mediation or dialogue at court in Vietnam

Confidentiality of mediation or dialogue at court is prescribed in Article 4 of the Law on mediation or dialogue at the Court in 2020 as follows:

- Mediators, parties, and other entities who are invited to participate in mediation or dialogue must not disclose information they know in the process of mediation or dialogue.

- During the mediation or dialogue process, no audio-recording or video-recording is allowed and no minutes of mediation or dialogue is taken. The minutes is only taken to record the outcome of mediation or dialogue as prescribed in Article 31 of this Law. Mediators and the parties may only take notes for the purpose of mediation or dialogue and must keep the notes confidential.

- Documents and presentations of the parties in the process of mediation or dialogue must not be used as evidence in the course of case settlement as per the law, except for the following cases:

+ The party that has presented documents and presented opinions during the mediation or dialogue process has agreed to use the documents and presentations during the mediation or dialogue process as evidence;

+ The documents and presentations must be used as evidence in accordance with the law.

- Entities that violate the provisions of Clauses 1, 2 and 3 of Article 4 of the Law on mediation or dialogue at the Court in 2020shall be sanctioned as per the law.

4. Costs incurred in mediation or dialogue at court in Vietnam

-  The costs incurred in mediation or dialogue at court shall be covered by the state budget, except for the cases specified in Clause 2, Article 9 of the Law on mediation or dialogue at the Court in 2020

- The parties in mediation or dialogue at court must bear the following costs:

+ Mediation costs for disputes on business and trade related to monetary claim;

+ Costs incurred when the parties agree to select a place for mediation or dialogue outside the court's headquarters; costs incurred when the mediator examines the current state of assets related to the civil case or administrative lawsuit which are outside the administrative boundaries of the province where the competent court is located;

+ Costs incurred in foreign language interpretation.

Diem My

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