Vietnam
Answer ... Under Article 423 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CCP), foreign judgments and decisions relating to civil, marriage, family, business, commercial or labour matters, and decisions on property in criminal/administrative proceedings, will be recognised and enforced under Vietnamese law. In addition, Article 424 of the CCP provides that a foreign arbitral award will be recognised and enforced under Vietnamese law. The grounds for recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments are based on two principles:
- international treaties to which Vietnam is a signatory (see question 1.2); and
- the principle of reciprocity.
In addition, Article 118 of the 2014 Law on Bankruptcy, which regulates the procedures for recognition and enforcement of foreign bankruptcy decisions, provides: “The recognition and authorisation to implement decisions on bankruptcy settlement must comply with the regulations on the judicial assistance treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a State Party and other regulations of the law on judicial assistance.” With this provision, the Law on Bankruptcy affirms that the recognition and enforcement of a foreign court’s decision to settle bankruptcy matters is a type of mutual legal assistance that Vietnam performs for a foreign country in accordance with the Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance and the Law on Mutual Legal Assistance.
Nevertheless, 16 out of 17 bilateral international treaties that Vietnam has signed with other countries on mutual legal assistance in civil matters exclude the consideration, recognition and enforcement of bankruptcy judgments from mutual legal assistance activities. The agreement between Vietnam and Hungary signed in 2018 and effective 6 March 2019 provides that a foreign court’s bankruptcy decision will not be considered for recognition and enforcement (Article 21.1 of the agreement), due to differences between the bankruptcy proceedings and civil proceedings of the two countries.
Accordingly, despite the Law on Bankruptcy, there are currently no bilateral agreements on mutual legal assistance to which Vietnam is a member which provide for the recognition and enforcement of bankruptcy foreign judgments and decisions of one country in particular.
Vietnam
Answer ... Article 432.1 of the CCP regulates the prescriptive periods for filing applications for recognition and enforcement and provides that: “Within three years of the day on which the civil judgment/decision of a foreign court takes legal effect, the judgment/decision creditors, persons with relevant legitimate rights and interests or their lawful representatives may submit their application …”
According to this provision, a foreign judgment must be final and binding before it can be recognised and enforced in Vietnam. Accordingly, the applicant for recognition and enforcement of a foreign judgment must prove that the foreign judgment is final and binding. Further, documents and evidence attached to applications for recognition and enforcement must also be submitted. These documents include those issued by the foreign court or other competent foreign agency certifying that such judgment/decision has taken legal effect and has not expired and may be enforced in Vietnam, except where these details have already been clearly stated in the judgment/decision.
Vietnam
Answer ... As mentioned in question 2.2, the foreign judgment must be final and have taken legal effect before recognition and enforcement can be sought in Vietnam. As such, if the foreign judgment is subject to appeal, it will not be recognised or enforced in Vietnam.
Vietnam
Answer ... Under Article 432 of the CCP, the limitation period for submitting an application for recognition and enforcement is three years from the date on which the civil judgment/decision of a foreign court takes legal effect. However, this time limit may be extended if the applicant encounters a force majeure event or an objective obstruction and is unable to file a claim within the specified timeframe. In these cases, the applicant must prove that it has been prevented from filing an application due to an objective obstruction or force majeure event.