CYIL vol. 15 (2024)

CYIL 15 ȍ2024Ȏ JURISDICTION OF VIETNAMESE COURTS IN INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL… dd) Civil cases related to civil relations which are established, changed or terminated in Vietnam, objects of which are properties in Vietnam or acts performed in Vietnam; e) Civil cases related to civil relations which are established, changed or terminated outside Vietnam but involve rights and obligations of Vietnamese agencies, organizations and individuals or agencies, organizations and individuals that are headquartered or reside in Vietnam. 2. When the jurisdiction of Vietnamese Courts have been determined according to provisions of this Chapter, the Court shall base themselves of provisions of Chapter III of this Code to determine their specific jurisdiction to resolve the civil case involving foreign elements. Article 470. Exclusive jurisdiction of Vietnamese Courts 1. The following civil lawsuits involving foreign elements shall fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of Vietnamese courts: a) Civil lawsuits involving rights to properties being immovables in the Vietnamese territory; b) Divorce case between a Vietnamese citizen and a foreign citizen or a stateless person if both spouses reside, work or live permanently in Vietnam; www.economica.vn Unofficial translation. For reference only 199 c) Other civil lawsuits where parties are allowed to choose Vietnamese Courts to settle according to Vietnamese law or International treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a signatory and parties agreed to choose Vietnamese Courts…[…]. ” 3 Accordingly, there are four (04) grounds of general (concurrent) jurisdiction and two (02) grounds for exclusive jurisdiction over contract disputes. General jurisdiction includes: (i) the defendant’s place of residence is in Vietnam (Article 469.1.a and Article 469.1.b); (ii) the defendant’s property is in Vietnam (Article 469.1.c); (iii) contracts that were signed, performed, terminated in Vietnam (Article 469.1.dd); and, (iv) contracts that were signed, performed, terminated outside of Vietnam but involves the rights and obligations of Vietnamese agencies, organizations, and individuals that are headquartered or reside in Vietnam (Article 469.1.e). Exclusive jurisdiction includes: (i) contract cases that involve rights to immovable property in Vietnam (Article 470.1.a); and, (ii) choice of a Vietnamese court by parties (Article 470.1.c). The present study does not focus on analyzing how the law was developed or the intention of the legislator behind the text. 4 It aims to reveal how the court practically picks up those grounds of jurisdiction. Therefore, the study starts with a section that describes a collection of court decisions dealing with jurisdiction toward international commercial contracts over a six year period (2017–2022). In this section, each decision shall be noted with the jurisdictional grounds it represents. Further, this section will inform readers about the methods of collecting cases and the difficulties the authors encountered. Judgments are then analyzed to reveal the practice of Vietnamese courts in assuming international jurisdiction. This Article then attempts to figure out the rationales behind the findings and concludes by suggesting recommendations for improving adjudication transparency and strengthening reasoning in court rulings. 3 www.economica.vn. Unofficial translation. For reference only. 4 For a more comprehensive account on the legislative development of Vietnamese court’s international direct jurisdiction, see REYES, A. & LUI, W. Direct Jurisdiction: Asian Perspectives . Oxford: Hart Publishing. 2021, Vietnam Perspective Chapter.

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