Procedures for settlement of land disputes under the authority of the Chairman of the People's Committee of second-level/first-level administrative division in Vietnam

Procedures for settlement of land disputes under the authority of the Chairman of the People's Committee of second-level/first-level administrative division in Vietnam (Image from Internet)

1. Procedures for settlement of land disputes under the authority of the Chairman of the People's Committee of second-level/first-level administrative division in Vietnam

- Individuals requesting resolution of land disputes shall submit the request to the competent People's Committee.

- The Chairman of the competent People's Committee is responsible for:

+ Within 5 working days from the date of receiving the request, must notify in writing the disputing parties, the Land Registration Office or its branches, and the People's Committee of the commune where the disputed land is located about the acceptance of the request for land dispute resolution. In case of non-acceptance, must notify in writing and clearly state the reasons;

+ Assign responsibilities to the advisory agency for resolution.

- The advisory agency is tasked with investigating, verifying the case, organizing mediation between disputing parties, holding meetings with relevant agencies to consult on resolving the land dispute (if necessary), and finalizing the dossier to submit to the Chairman of the People's Committee of the same level for issuing a decision on land dispute resolution. The land dispute resolution dossier includes:

+ The request for land dispute resolution;

+ The mediation record at the commune-level People's Committee; the working records with disputing parties and related persons; the inspection record of the current state of the disputed land; the meeting record of relevant agencies to consult on resolving the land dispute in case of unsuccessful mediation (if any); the mediation record during the dispute resolution process;

+ Excerpts from maps, cadastral files, satellite image data over various periods related to the disputed land area (if any) and other documents serving as evidence during the dispute resolution;

+ The report and proposed decision on dispute resolution or the proposed decision recognizing successful mediation.

- The Chairman of the competent People's Committee issues a decision on the dispute resolution or a decision recognizing successful mediation and sends it to the disputing parties and related organizations and individuals.

- The time limit for completing land dispute resolution procedures

+ The time limit for completing the land dispute resolution procedures under the jurisdiction of the Chairman of the district-level People's Committee is no more than 45 days from the date of accepting the request for land dispute resolution;

+ The time limit for completing the land dispute resolution procedures under the jurisdiction of the Chairman of the provincial-level People's Committee is no more than 60 days from the date of accepting the request for land dispute resolution;

+ For mountainous, border communes; islands; areas with difficult socio-economic conditions; and areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions, the time limits specified in points a and b of clause 4, Article 106 of Decree 102/2024/ND-CP are extended by 10 days.

(According to Article 106 of Decree 102/2024/ND-CP)

2. Cases of settlement of land disputes at the People's Committee of second-level/first-level administrative division in Vietnam

According to clause 3, Article 236 of the Land Law 2024, in case the disputing parties choose to resolve the dispute at the competent People's Committee, the land dispute resolution in Vietnam will be carried out as follows:

- In cases of disputes between households, individuals, and residential communities, the Chairman of the district-level People's Committee resolves the dispute. After 30 days from the date of receiving the resolution decision of the Chairman of the district-level People's Committee, if the disputing parties do not initiate litigation or file a complaint according to point a, clause 3, Article 236 of the Land Law 2024, the resolution decision of the Chairman of the district-level People's Committee becomes enforceable.

If the disputing parties do not agree with the resolution decision, within 30 days from the date of receiving the decision, they have the right to file a lawsuit at the court according to administrative procedure laws or file a complaint to the Chairman of the provincial-level People's Committee. The resolution decision of the Chairman of the provincial-level People's Committee becomes enforceable.

- In cases of disputes where one party is an organization, religious organization, subsidiary religious organization, overseas Vietnamese, or foreign-invested economic organization, the Chairman of the provincial-level People's Committee resolves the dispute. After 30 days from the date of receiving the resolution decision of the Chairman of the provincial-level People's Committee, if the disputing parties do not initiate litigation or file a complaint according to point b, clause 3, Article 236 of the Land Law 2024, the resolution decision of the Chairman of the provincial-level People's Committee becomes enforceable.

If the disputing parties do not agree with the resolution decision, within 30 days from the date of receiving the decision, they have the right to file a lawsuit at the court according to administrative procedure laws or file a complaint to the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment. The resolution decision of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment becomes enforceable.

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