VIETNAM Law and Practice Contributed by: Ngoc Luong Trinh, Tung Nguyen, Hanh Vo, Esko Cate, Nguyen Dang, Khanh Le, Hoang Nguyen and Truc Ta, VILAF
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1. Legal System 1.1 Legal System and Judicial Order Overview of the Legal System
structure comprising the Regional People’s Courts, the Provincial-level People’s Courts and the Supreme People’s Court: • The Regional People’s Courts serve as the prin - cipal first-instance courts for most criminal, civil, commercial, family and administrative cases. For certain specialised matters related to insolvency, rehabilitation, intellectual property and technology transfers, only some selected Regional People’s Courts in Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh Cit - ies with specialised court divisions will have the first-instance jurisdiction over such matters. These courts generally exercise jurisdiction over a broad geographical area spanning several wards, being the smallest administrative units in Vietnam. • The Provincial-level People’s Courts generally hear appeals from the Regional People’s Courts. They also exercise first-instance jurisdiction over serious criminal cases and certain special matters, such as annulment of domestic arbitral awards. • The Supreme People’s Court, based in Hanoi, is the highest court in the judicial system and primar - ily handles cassation and retrial cases. It also has three Appellate Divisions in Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City to hear appeals from the Provincial- level People’s Courts. The IFC Specialised Court Notably, in early 2026, Vietnam established a new specialised court at the International Financial Cen - tre located in Ho Chi Minh City (“IFC Specialised Court”) to support the operation of Vietnam’s newly
Vietnam’s legal system is principally rooted in the civ - il law tradition, reflecting its historical development under French colonial rule. As a result, the legal frame - work is primarily founded on codified law. It mainly comprises primary legislation enacted by the National Assembly and subordinate legislation issued by the Government, ministries and other agencies. The Gov - ernment plays a central role in law-making by propos - ing and drafting legislation, enacting and implement - ing regulations on key aspects of laws and publishing guidance on their practical application. Vietnam has recently developed a case-law system under which the Supreme People’s Court may select and designate certain portions of judgments as official precedents. These precedents are binding on Viet - namese courts when adjudicating cases involving similar legal issues. However, the system of precedent remains limited, with fewer than 100 officially recog - nised cases to date. The Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuracy also periodically issue internal guidance informed by higher-court deci - sions to promote consistency in the judicial approach to particular issues.
Organisation of Judicial Order The People’s Courts system
Following a restructuring of the court system in 2025, Vietnamese courts are organised into a three-tier
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