Legal capacity in civil procedure and procedural capacity of parties involved in civil cases in Vietnam

Legal capacity in civil procedure and procedural capacity of parties involved in civil cases in Vietnam​ (Image from the Internet)

1. Regulations on parties involved in civil cases in Vietnam

Parties involved in civil cases in Vietnam, according to Article 68 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015, are as follows:

- The involved parties in civil lawsuits are agencies, organizations and individuals, including the plaintiffs, the defendants and the persons with related interests and obligations.

The involved parties in civil matters are agencies, organizations and individuals, including the persons petitioning settlement of civil matters and persons with related interests and obligations.

- The litigator in a civil lawsuit is the person that initiates lawsuit or the person for whom the other agencies, organizations and individuals prescribed by Civil Procedure Code 2015 initiates the lawsuit to request the Court to resolve the civil lawsuit when he/she holds that the legitimate rights and interests of that person have been infringed upon.

Agencies and organizations prescribed by Civil Procedure Code 2015, which initiate civil lawsuits to request Courts to protect the public interests, the State's interests in the domains under their respective charges are also plaintiffs.

-  The defendant in a civil lawsuit is the person against whom the plaintiff initiates a lawsuit or the other agencies, organizations and individuals prescribed by Civil Procedure Code 2015 initiates a lawsuit to request the Court to resolve the civil lawsuit when they holds that the legitimate rights and interests of the plaintiff have been infringed upon by such person.

- The persons with related interests and/or obligations in civil lawsuits are those who neither initiate lawsuits nor are sued, but the resolution of the civil lawsuits is related to their interests and/or obligations and, therefore they themselves, or other involved parties, request to include them in the proceedings in the capacity as the persons with related interests and/or obligations and such requests are accepted by courts.

 Where the resolution of a civil lawsuit is related to the interests and/or obligations of a person but no one requests to include him or her in the proceedings in the capacity as the persons with related interests and/or obligations, the Court shall have to include that person in the proceedings in the capacity as the person with related interests and/or obligations.

- The persons petitioning the resolution of civil matters are those who petition the Court to or not to recognize a legal event to form the basis for the arising of rights and/or obligations relating to civil issues, marriage and family, business, trade and labor of themselves or of other agencies, organizations and individuals; and/or petition the Court to recognize their rights and/or obligations relating to civil issues, marriage and family, business, trade, labor.

- The persons with related interests and/or obligations in civil matters are those who do not petition the resolution of civil matters, but the resolution of the civil matters is related to their interests and/or obligations and, therefore they themselves, or other involved parties in the civil matters, request to include them in the proceedings in the capacity as the persons with related interests and/or obligations and such requests are accepted by the Courts.

Where the resolution of a civil matter is related to the interests and/or obligations of a person but no one requests to include him or her in the proceedings in the capacity as the persons with related interests and/or obligations, the Court shall have to include that person in the proceedings in the capacity as the person with related interests and/or obligations.

2. Legal capacity in civil procedure and procedural capacity of parties involved in civil cases in Vietnam​

Legal capacity in civil procedure and procedural capacity of parties involved in civil cases in Vietnam​ according to Article 69 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015 is as follows:

- Capacity for civil procedural law is the ability to have rights and obligations in civil procedures as prescribed by the law. All agencies, organizations, and individuals have equal capacity for civil procedural law regarding requests for the Court to protect their legitimate rights and interests.

- Capacity for procedural conduct is the ability to personally perform civil procedural rights and obligations or to authorize a representative to participate in civil procedures.

- Parties involved in civil cases who are eighteen years of age or older have full capacity for procedural conduct unless they are incapacitated or the law provides otherwise.

For those with restricted legal capacity, those who have difficulty in perception or behavior control, their capacity for procedural conduct is determined by the Court's decision.

- Parties involved in civil cases who are under six years of age or incapacitated have no capacity for procedural conduct. The implementation of civil procedural rights and obligations for these litigants, and the protection of their legitimate rights and interests before the Court, are performed by their legal representatives.

- Parties involved in civil cases, who are from six to under fifteen years of age, have their civil procedural rights and obligations implemented and their legitimate rights and interests protected before the Court by their legal representatives.

For those with restricted legal capacity, or with difficulty in perception or behavior control, the implementation of their civil procedural rights and obligations, and the protection of their legitimate rights and interests, are determined by the Court's decision.

- Parties involved in civil cases from fifteen to under eighteen years of age who partake in labor under a labor contract or participate in civil transactions using their own property can independently participate in procedures concerning labor or civil relations. In such cases, the Court has the right to summon their legal representative to participate in the proceedings. For other matters, their legal representatives handle the implementation of civil procedural rights and obligations before the Court.

- Parties involved in civil cases as agencies or organizations participate in proceedings through their legal representatives.

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