VIETNAM Law and Practice Contributed by: Tony Nguyen, Ta Phuong Thao, Nguyen Minh Duc, Nguyen Phuong Anh, Nguyen Duc Tai and Truong Que Chi, EPLegal
multiple separate pages, each page must be signed and stamped with a seal overlapping the pages. If the statement of the party is recorded outside the Court premises, it must be witnessed or confirmed by the People’s Committee of the commune or the Police of the commune, ward, special administrative region or the agency or organisation where the statement was recorded. In arbitration, at the request of one or more parties and deeming it necessary, the arbitral tribunal has the right to summon a witness to the dispute resolution hearing. The costs for the witness shall be borne by the party requesting the witness or allocated by the arbitral tribunal. If a witness, having been duly sum- moned by the arbitral tribunal, fails to appear without justifiable reason and their absence hinders the reso- lution of the dispute, the arbitral tribunal shall send a written request to the competent court to issue a summons for the witness to appear at the arbitral tri- bunal’s hearing. The concept of a pretrial deposition does not formal- ly exist in the Vietnamese legal system. There is no mechanism for lawyers to conduct sworn, recorded examinations of witnesses outside of the court’s pres- ence to gather evidence before the trial. Evidence col- lection is largely overseen by the judge. During a trial, parties have the right to question wit- nesses directly to clarify facts or challenge the cred- ibility of their statements. However, the judge usually initiates the questioning. Once the court has finished, the parties (or their legal counsel) may ask follow-up questions. In arbitral proceedings, the process is often more flexible. Tribunals frequently allow more exten- sive questioning by counsel, more closely resem- bling international cross-examination standards than Vietnamese law does permit the use of expert conclu- sions and recognises them as a source of evidence under Article 94.5 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015. An expert conclusion may be ordered by the Court or conducted at the request of a party under Article 102 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015. domestic court litigation. 8.5 Expert Evidence
Under Article 80 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015, the expert has a duty to present, explain and answer questions related to the expert assessment and its conclusions in an honest, well-founded and objective manner. The expert must also attend the hearing if summoned to explain the conclusion and must refuse, in writing, to conduct the examination if the matter falls outside his or her expertise or if the documents provided for the assessment are insufficient or unus- able. A foreign judgment may be recognised and enforced in Vietnam under an applicable treaty or, in its absence, on the basis of reciprocity under the Civil Procedure Code 2015. The judgment creditor must file an application with- in three years from the date the judgment becomes effective, either with the Ministry of Justice or direct- ly with the competent court. The application must include the judgment, evidence of its finality, proof of proper service and certified Vietnamese translations. The court does not review the merits but assesses whether the statutory conditions for recognition are met. Recognition may be refused on grounds such as lack of jurisdiction, procedural defects or inconsisten- cy with the fundamental principles of Vietnamese law. If recognised, the judgment has the same effect as a Vietnamese court judgment and is enforceable through the civil enforcement system. Parties may appeal the recognition decision within 15 days. 9. Enforcement 9.1 Enforcement of Judgments A party may also apply for non-recognition within the prescribed time limits, following a similar procedure. Where no enforcement is sought, a party may apply for non-recognition of a foreign judgment within six months from the date of receipt of the effective judg- ment. The application may be submitted to the Min- istry of Justice or directly to the competent court, depending on applicable treaty arrangements.
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