1. What is a Foreign court civil Judgment and Decision?

Activities of international cooperation, trade, or relationships in areas such as family, administration, and labor, etc… often give rise to disputes that are inevitable. Entities involved in relationships with a foreign element need to have a thorough understanding of the procedures related to foreign court judgments and decisions. Therefore, What are foreign court judgments and decisions? Article 423 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015 stipulates the recognition and enforcement of civil judgments and decisions of foreign courts in Vietnam as follows:

"1. The following foreign court civil judgments and decisions are considered for recognition and enforcement in Vietnam:

a) Judgments and decisions on civil, marriage & family, business, commerce, labor; and property matters within the judgments and decisions on criminal, administrative issues of foreign courts as stipulated in International Treaties of which the foreign country and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam are members.

b) Judgments and decisions on civil, marriage & family, business, commerce, labor; and property matters within the judgments and decisions on criminal, administrative issues of foreign courts in which the foreign country and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam are not both members of International Treaties containing provisions on recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments and decisions based on the reciprocity principle.

c) Other foreign court civil judgments and decisions as stipulated by Vietnamese law.

2. Decisions on personal status, marriage and family matters by other competent foreign authorities are also considered for recognition and enforcement in Vietnam, similar to foreign civil judgments and decisions specified in Clause 1 of this Article."

​2. What is the recognition and enforcement of judgments/decisions of foreign courts in Vietnam?

Recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments and decisions in Vietnam mean acknowledging and permitting the execution in Vietnam of foreign court judgments and decisions related to civil, marriage & family, labor, decisions on property within criminal judgments/decisions… according to specific legal principles and procedures.

In addition to the principles as stipulated in Article 423 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015, Vietnamese courts only recognize and enforce foreign court judgments and decisions upon receiving a petition from the judgment creditor requesting recognition and enforcement in Vietnam. The individual or entity requested for enforcement must meet certain conditions, such as residing or working in Vietnam if an individual, or having its principal office or related assets in Vietnam if an organization, at the time of the request.

Judgments and decisions of foreign courts recognized and enforced by Vietnamese courts in Vietnam have the same legal effect as judgments and decisions of Vietnamese courts that have come into force and are enforced according to enforcement procedures.

3. Requirements for recognition and enforcement of judgments and decisions of foreign courts in Vietnam

As can be observed, the recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments and decisions in Vietnam play a crucial role in protecting the legal rights and interests of relevant entities, ensuring both fairness and the integrity of the rulings from the competent authorities. Therefore, what are the requirements for the recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments and decisions in Vietnam?

• Firstly, the foreign court judgment or decision must fall within cases that are considered or automatically recognized and enforceable in Vietnam.
• Secondly, the request for recognition and enforcement of the foreign court judgment or decision in Vietnam must be made within the statute of limitations for requesting recognition and enforcement according to regulations.

• Thirdly, a formal request must be submitted and sent to the competent authority following the order and procedures outlined in the Civil Procedure Code 2015.

• Fourthly, the foreign court judgments or decisions do not fall under cases that cannot be recognized and enforced in Vietnam.

4. The procedures for considering the recognition and enforcement of judgments or decisions of foreign courts in Vietnam

4.1 Dossier:

The dossier for consideration of recognition and enforcement of judgments and decisions of foreign courts in Vietnam includes:

• The original or authenticated copy of the judgment or decision issued by the foreign court;
• A document from the foreign court or another competent foreign agency confirming that the judgment or decision is legally effective, not yet expired, and requires enforcement in Vietnam, except in cases where the judgment or decision explicitly states these details;

• A document from the foreign court or another competent foreign agency confirming the valid delivery of the judgment or decision to the judgment debtor.

• A document from the foreign court or another competent competent foreign agency confirming that the judgment debtor or their legal representative, has been validly summoned in cases where the foreign court issued the judgment in their absence.

Attaching with the request for recognition and enforcement of the judgment or decision of the foreign court, all documents and papers in a foreign language must be accompanied by a Vietnamese translation that is certified and legally authenticated.

4.2 Order, Procedures

Step 1: Submitting the recognition and enforcement request

Within 03 years from the effective date of the foreign court judgment or decision, the judgment creditor, the person with related legitimate rights and interests or their legal representative have the right to submit a request to the Ministry of Justice of Vietnam as per the provisions of the international treaty between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the country whose Court has issued the judgment or decision are both members or the Vietnamese Court has jurisdiction to request recognition and enforcement in Vietnam of that judgment or decision. (In case of force majeure, the time will be extended).

Step 2: Accepting and Reviewing of the Request

• The acceptance of the request:

Within 05 working days from the date of receiving the dossier transferred by the Ministry of Justice or from the date of receiving the request and accompanying documents submitted by the requesting party, the court shall review, accept the dossier and notify the judgment creditor, the judgment debtor or their legal representative in Vietnam, the Procuracy at the same level and the Ministry of Justice.

• The review of the request is conducted within the following timeframes:
  • Application review: 4 months from the date of acceptance.
  • ​Extension for waiting for the requester's explanation (if any) is no more than 02 months.
  • ​Time for holding a session: 1 month from the date of the decision to hold the session to review the request. During the session, the court sends the dossier to the equivalent-level Procuracy for examination. Within 15 days from the date of receiving the dossier, the Procuracy must return the dossier to the court.

Step 3: Meeting to review the Request

The review of the request is conducted during a session by the Council for reviewing requests, consisting of 03 Judges, including 01 Judge acting as the chairperson as designated by the Chief Justice of the Court.

Participation includes:

• The Procuracy.

• The judgment creditor, the judgment debtor or their legal representative. If any of these parties are absent for the first time, the session must be postponed. The review of the request may proceed even if the judgment creditor or their legal representative, the judgment debtor or their legal representative requests the Court to review the application in absentia, or they have been validly summoned for a second time but remain absent.

During the preparation period for the review of the request, the court of first instance has the right to decide to apply, modify, or cancel interim urgent measures as stipulated.

Step 4: Issuing the Court Decision and Appealing, protesting

Within 15 days from the date of the decision, the court must send the decision to the concerned parties or their legal representatives, the Ministry of Justice, and the equivalent-level Procuracy.

The Chief Prosecutor of the provincial-level People's Procuracy or the Chief Prosecutor of the central-level People's Procuracy has the right to protest the court decision. The deadline for filing a protest by the provincial-level People's Procuracy is 7 days, and for the central-level People's Procuracy is 10 days from the date the People's Procuracy receives the court decision.

​5. Jurisdiction to recognize and enforce foreign court judgments and decisions in Vietnam

The jurisdiction of the court to handle the recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments/decisions in Vietnam is determined based on the principles outlined in the Civil Procedure Code. The provincial-level People's Court is the competent authority for recognizing and enforcing foreign court judgments in Vietnam.

5.1 Court Jurisdiction based on territory

Firstly, the court with jurisdiction to handle requests for recognition and enforcement or non-recognition of foreign court judgments/decisions on civil, marriage and family, business, trade and labor in Vietnam means the court where the judgment debtor on civil, marriage and family, business, trade, or labor resides or works, in the case of an individual; or where the judgment debtor has its headquarters, in the case of an organization; or where the related assets for the enforcement of the foreign court judgment are located.

Secondly, the court with jurisdiction to handle requests for recognition and enforcement or non-recognition of foreign court judgments/decisions on civil, marriage and family, business, trade and labor in Vietnam means the court where the petitioner resides or works, in the case of an individual; or where the petitioner has its headquarters, in the case of an organization.

In cases the petitioner submits requests to multiple courts, the court that first accepted the case shall have the authority to handle the request based on the relevant jurisdiction and time. Other courts, if they have already accepted the case, follow legal provisions to decide on suspending the handling of the request, removing the civil case from their jurisdiction, and returning the petition.

​5.2.The civil judgments and decisions of foreign courts are automatically recognized in Vietnam without the need for a formal recognition request procedure before the court.

The following cases of civil judgments and decisions of foreign courts shall be automatically recognized in Vietnam without the need to carry out the recognition request procedure before the court.

• Civil judgments and decisions of foreign courts, decisions of other competent authorities of foreign countries that do not require enforcement in Vietnam and do not have a non-recognition request, as stipulated in the international conventions of which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member, shall be automatically recognized in Vietnam if they meet the following requirements:
  • As a civil judgment or decision related to civil relations, marriage & family or labor not associated with the property, it does not need to carry out the procedures for the execution of civil judgments. It falls under the category of judgments and decisions that are automatically recognized under international conventions of which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.
  • The judgment or decision does not require enforcement in Vietnam.
  • The involved parties have not submitted a request for non-recognition of the judgment or decision in Vietnam within the specified period under Article 447 of the Civil Procedure Code.
• The judgment or decision concerning marriage and family from a foreign court or a decision regarding marriage and family from another competent authority of a foreign country, where that country and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam are not both members of the relevant international convention, shall be automatically recognized in Vietnam without requiring enforcement and without the submission of a request for non-recognition, if it meets the following requirements:
  • It is a judgment or decision regarding personal rights not associated with property and does not need to be enforced through civil judgment enforcement procedures.
  • The judgment or decision does not have a requirement for enforcement in Vietnam.
  • The parties involved do not submit a request for non-recognition of that judgment or decision in Vietnam within the time limit specified in Article 447 of the Civil Procedure Code.

• In case the litigant is a Vietnamese citizen, regardless of residing in Vietnam or abroad, and submits an application for the recognition of the divorce judgment (which does not resolve the issues of common property and common children of the spouses) from a foreign court, the court returns the application. Along with returning the application, the court needs to explain to the litigant that if they agree with the divorce judgment of the foreign court, it shall automatically be effective in Vietnam. If the litigant wishes to confirm their divorced status according to the divorce judgment of the foreign court, they only need to contact the competent Civil status registration agency in Vietnam to complete the procedure of recording the divorce in the civil status book, as the divorce has been conducted abroad without the requirement for enforcement in Vietnam and without an application for non-recognition in Vietnam.

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