VIETNAM Law and Practice Contributed by: Tung Ngo, Linh D. Nguyen and Minh Doan, VILAF
VILAF 4th Floor MPlaza Saigon Building 39 Le Duan Street Saigon Ward Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam Tel: +84 28 3827 7300 Fax: +84 28 3827 7303 Email: tung@vilaf.com.vn Web: www.vilaf.com.vn
1. General 1.1 Prevalence of Arbitration
From a practical perspective, the VIAC’s annual reports from 2021 to 2024 identify several key indus - tries with notable arbitration activity in recent years, which are: • sale of goods (accounting for 44.4% of total dis - putes in 2021 and 25% of total disputes in 2024); • construction (18.9% in 2021 and 22% in 2024); • real estate (.,5% in 2021 and 14% in 2024); • finance (11% in 2024); • services (13% in 2024); and • logistics (2.2% in 2021 and 4% in 2024). The growth of arbitration activity in these industries can be attributed to high levels of foreign investment, the rapid development of infrastructure in Vietnam, and the prevalence of complex and long-term con - tracts. 1.3 Arbitration Institutions The VIAC is the leading arbitral institution in Vietnam, owing to several key factors, which are: • long-established reputation and presence ‒ the VIAC was established in 1993, under Decision No 204/TTg dated 22 April 1993 of the Prime Minister; • experienced and diverse panel of arbitrators ‒ the VIAC maintains a list of more than 200 arbitrators from various professional backgrounds and juris - dictions, providing strong support for a wide range of disputes and bilingual proceedings; and • alignment with international standards ‒ the VIAC has progressively updated its arbitration
International arbitration has gained increasing promi - nence in Vietnam during the past few years. According to the 2024 Annual Report of the Vietnam International Arbitration Centre (VIAC) (Vietnam’s leading arbitration centre), the number of disputes brought before VIAC tribunals has significantly increased throughout the past decade – with475 cases admitted in 2024 com - pared to around 270 cases in the previous three years and around 100 cases a decade ago. Vietnamese domestic parties generally prefer litigation over arbitration. This inclination is often attributed to greater familiarity with the domestic court system and the perception of lower initial costs. However, arbitration has become more popular among domestic parties in recent years. According to the VIAC’s annual reports from 2021 to 2024, the num - ber of purely domestic disputes (with no involvement of foreign-invested enterprises) brought before VIAC tribunals gradually increased from 42.7% to 52.06% during the past four years. 1.2 Key Industries According to a proposal by the Vietnamese Lawyers’ Association to the Government in 2024, significant international arbitration activity has been observed in industries such as construction and infrastructure, real estate, commerce, banking and finance.
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