Property disputes with foreigners in Vietnam and things to keep in mind

Relationship Property disputes with foreigners is a civil relationship with a foreign element. According to the provisions of Article 663, Civil Code 2015 (“Civil Code 2015”) then civil relations with foreign elements are civil relations in which at least one of the participating parties is a foreign agency, organization or individual, or civil relations between participating parties. is a Vietnamese citizen or legal entity, but the establishment, change, implementation or termination of that relationship according to foreign law arises in a foreign country or the assets related to that relationship are located abroad.

Competent authority to resolve

1. Court

For relations Property disputes with foreigners, determining the Court's jurisdiction is always the first and most important step when conducting dispute resolution procedures at Court.

• According to the case: Currently, property disputes with foreigners are regulated by law Civil proceedings 2015 (“BLTTDS 2015) falls under the jurisdiction of the Provincial People's Court.
• By territory: The court where the defendant resides or works, if the defendant is an individual, or where the defendant is headquartered, if the defendant is an agency or organization, has the authority to resolve property disputes according to first instance procedures. stipulated in Article 39 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015.

The litigants have the right to agree with each other in writing to request the Court at the place of residence or work of the plaintiff, if the plaintiff is an individual or the place where the plaintiff is headquartered, if the plaintiff is an agency or organization. Authority to resolve civil disputes specified in Articles 39 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code.

If the object of the dispute is real estate, only the Court where the real estate is located has jurisdiction to resolve it.

2. Referee

Not only is the Court the only agency to resolve property disputes with foreigners, in disputes related to contracts, the parties can also agree with each other to resolve property disputes by other means. Arbitration through centers commercial arbitration.

3. Statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit

Statute of limitations in Property disputes with foreigners is the time limit within which a subject is entitled to initiate a lawsuit to request the Court to resolve a civil case to protect the legitimate rights and interests that have been violated:

4. Cases of property disputes with foreigners do not apply the statute of limitations for filing lawsuits:

Request to protect personal rights not attached to property; protect ownership rights and disputes over land use rights according to Land Law regulations (Article 155 of the 2015 Civil Code).

Other cases:

• The requirement to divide the estate is 30 years for real estate; 10 years for movable property from the time of opening the inheritance; For transfer of inheritance rights or rejection of inheritance rights, it is 10 years; The requirement to fulfill inheritance obligations is 03 years from the time of opening the inheritance (Article 623 of the 2015 Civil Code);
• Claiming compensation for damages is 03 years (Article 607 Civil Code 2015); and
• The requirement to resolve contract disputes is 03 years (Article 429 of the 2015 Civil Code).

5. Lawsuit file

5.1. Judicial mandate file

Civil legal mandate is a written request by a court, a competent Vietnamese agency or a foreign competent agency to perform one or several mutual legal assistance activities according to regulations. provisions of relevant country's laws or international treaties to which Vietnam is a member. This is a required document for some cases of property disputes with foreigners or involving foreign elements:

• Serving papers, records and documents related to civil legal assistance;