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
established International Financial Centre (with two hubs located in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang). The IFC Specialised Court has exclusive jurisdiction over most types of business and commercial disputes and matters where at least one party is a member of the International Financial Centre in Vietnam, pro - vided that they do not involve public interests or the interests of the State. It was established as a self- contained dispute resolution mechanism with its own legal framework and procedural rules, many of which are derived from common law practice. Some notable features are: • Foreign judges: Vietnamese and foreigners can be appointed as judges. They must have relevant expertise, at least 10 years’ experience resolving investment and business disputes and sufficient English proficiency. • English being the primary language: Proceed - ings shall be conducted and judgments issued, in English, either alone or together with a Vietnamese translation. • More streamlined proceedings: There are only two tiers of proceedings and appellate judgments are final and not subject to cassation or retrial proce - dures. The Court may also issue default judgments and summary judgments. Proceedings may also be conducted by electronic means from case filing until trial. • Case and cost management: The IFC Specialised Court has case management powers not available to the People’s Court. These include conducting case management conferences and conduct - ing pre-trial review. The Court may also allocate costs based on the outcome of the case, including reasonable attorney fees, which are generally not recoverable in traditional court litigation. • Direct enforcement: Unlike ordinary court judg - ments and orders, which are enforced by the Civil Judgment Enforcement Agency, the enforcement of IFC Specialised Court judgments and decisions is overseen directly by designated judges, who may issue ancillary enforcement orders, including orders attaching property or earnings and third- party debt orders.
At present, the Supreme People’s Court is in the pro - cess of developing the detailed Procedural Rules for the IFC Specialised Court. 2. Restrictions on Foreign Investments 2.1 Approval of Foreign Investments Under Vietnamese laws, foreign investments into Viet - nam are subject to a prior investment approval regime, as outlined. Investment Policy Approval (IPA) Certain investment projects must obtain investment policy approval before implementation due to their scale, sector, land use, national security impact or other regulatory sensitivities (Article 24 of the Law on Investment 2025). Projects Subject to Approval by the National Assembly The National Assembly has the authority to approve investment policies for projects that require special mechanisms or policies that differ from existing laws or National Assembly resolutions (Articles 24.20 and 25.1 of the Law on Investment 2025). Projects Subject to Approval by the Prime Minister The Prime Minister has authority over, among others: • projects involving conversion of protected forests, watershed forests, border protection forests or pro - duction forests exceeding statutory thresholds; • projects involving the conversion of two-crop rice cultivation land of 500 hectares or more; • nuclear power plant projects; • foreign-invested projects in telecommunications infrastructure, afforestation, publishing and press sectors; and • casino and betting business projects (Article 24.1, Article 24.2, Article 24.4, Article 24.6, Article 24.7 and Article 25.2 (a) of the Law on Investment 2025). The Prime Minister also approves projects involving large-scale resettlement and projects located within specially protected world heritage conservation are - as (Article 25.2 (b) and Article 25.2 (c) of the Law on Investment 2025).
1167 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook