Instructions for settlement of complaints about the court costs and fees in Vietnam

Instructions for settlement of complaints about the court costs and fees in Vietnam (Internet image) 

Regarding this matter, LawNet would like to answer as follows:

1. Instructions for settlement of complaints about the court costs and fees in Vietnam

Article 46 of Resolution 326/2016/UBTVQH14 guides the settlement of complaints about the court costs and fees as follows:

- Agencies, organizations and individuals may lodge complaints about the decisions or acts of the competent agencies or persons on court cost and fee advances or court costs and fees when having grounds to believe that these decisions or acts are unlawful and infringe upon their rights and legitimate interests.

- Complaints against decisions or acts of heads of civil judgment enforcement agencies, executors associated with court costs and fees shall be handled in accordance with laws and regulations on civil judgment enforcement.

- Agencies, organizations and individuals may lodge complaints with chief judges of first-instance courts within 03 working days after receiving court notices of payments of court cost and fee advances and court costs and fees or notices of the remission of the payments thereof. Chief Judges of the first-instance courts shall consider and settle these complaints within 03 working days after receiving them. Decisions of chief judges of the first-instance courts are final.

Complaints about the court costs and fees specified in the Court judgments or decisions shall be settled under the civil, criminal or administrative procedure law.

- Complaints about the collection of court fees by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall be settled under the law on complaints.

2. Cases of full remission of court cost and fee advances and court costs and fees in Vietnam

According to Article 12 of Resolution 326/2016/UBTVQH14, cases of full remission of court cost and fee advances and court costs and fees in Vietnam include:

- The following cases are eligible for the full remission of court cost advances and court costs:

+ Laborers who file lawsuits to request for payment of salaries, job loss allowance, severance allowance, social insurance payout, compensations for labor accidents or occupational diseases; settlement of claims for damages or compensations for unlawful dismissal or labor contract termination.

+ Persons who claim support or request identification of parents for minor children or adult children who have lost their civil act capacity.

+ Persons who lodge complaints about or file lawsuits against administrative decisions or acts of applying education and administrative measures in communes, wards or townships;

+ Persons who claim compensations for their life, health, honor or dignity.

+ Children; poor individuals and households; the elderly; the disabled; people with meritorious services to the revolution; ethnic minority groups in severely disadvantaged communes; relatives of martyrs who are issued with the martyr certificates by competent regulatory agencies.

- Entities mentioned in clause 1dd of this Article are eligible for the full remission of court fee advances and court fees according to clause 1, Article 4 of Resolution 326/2016/UBTVQH14.

- If the parties agree that one party shall be subject to the whole court cost or a partial court cost while this party is eligible for the full remission of court costs, the court shall consider approving the full remission of the partial court cost to which such party is subject as specified in the regulations hereof. This party is not eligible for the full remission of the court cost and fee which they pay for another party.

3. Cases unrequired to pay for court cost and fee advances and are not subject to court costs and fees in Vietnam

Article 11 of Resolution 326/2016/UBTVQH14 stipulates cases unrequired to pay for court cost and fee advances and are not subject to court costs and fees as follows:

* The following entities are not required to pay for court cost advances and not subject to court costs:

- Parties who lodge complaints about or file lawsuits against lists of voters to elect National Assembly deputies or People's Council deputies; lists of voters in the referendum;

- Agencies, organizations and individuals who file civil lawsuits or appeal against the judgment and/or ruling which has not come into effect of the court to protect the rights and legitimate interests of other persons, public or state interests as specified in Article 187 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2015, except for the cases in which the state enterprise files the lawsuit related to its business operation;

- Vietnam Bank for Social Policy which files the lawsuit or appeals against the judgment and/or ruling which has not come into effect of the court to collect debts from the poor and other policy beneficiaries;

- Procuracies which protest against court judgments and rulings under the appellate procedures;

- Defense counsels of the defendants who are under the age of 18 or are mentally or physically disabled;

- Defenders for the legitimate rights and interests of the victims, litigants who are under the age of 18 or are mentally or physically disabled;

- Other entities which are not required to pay for the court cost and fee advances as regulated by laws.

* The following entities are not required to pay for the court cost and fee advances and are not subject to court fees:

- Laborers who request the courts in writing to open procedures for bankruptcy of enterprises or cooperatives mentioned in clause 2, Article 5, clause 1a, Article 105 of the Law on bankruptcy 2014;

- Grassroots trade union executive boards which request the courts to examine the lawfulness of strikes;

- Representatives of labor collectives who request the courts to examine the lawfulness of strikes;

- Agencies and organizations which request the courts to invalidate unlawful marriages; change the custodians of the children; restrict the parental rights over adolescents; require the persons involuntarily to fulfill their support obligations to carry out such obligations as specified in clause 2 of Article 10, clause 5 of Article 84, clause 2 of Article 86, clause 2 of Article 119 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014; the regulatory agencies shall require the courts to provide copies of their judgments;

- Procuracies which protest against court judgments and rulings under the appellate procedures;

- Other entities which are not required to pay for the court cost and fee advances as regulated by laws.

* The consumers who file civil lawsuits to protect their legitimate rights and interests are not required to pay for the court cost and fee advances according to clause 2, Article 43 of the Law on protection of consumers’ rights 2010.

* Enforcers who require the Court to settle the disputes specified in clause 1, Article 74; clause 1 and clause 2, Article 75 of the Law on Civil Judgment Enforcement 2008 are not required to pay for the court cost and fee advances; and are not subject to court costs and fees.

To Quoc Trinh

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