VIETNAM Law and Practice Contributed by: Tung Ngo, Linh D. Nguyen and Minh Doan, VILAF
• the acceptance of documentary, witness or expert evidence; and • the deadlines and procedures for submission and exchange. Meanwhile, Vietnamese courts normally follow more formal evidentiary rules. Court proceedings often require authenticated and notarised documents, in addition to formal requirements for the admissibility of evidence. 8.3 Powers of Compulsion Under Article 46 of the LCA, arbitral tribunals in Viet - nam have the authority to request the production of documents and the attendance of witnesses to sup - port the resolution of a dispute. However, arbitral tri - bunals do not have coercive powers to enforce these requests. If a party or witness fails to comply, the tribunal or a party may request assistance from the competent court under Articles 7.2 (d) and (e) of the LCA. The court may compel the production of evidence or sum - mon witnesses, particularly where the arbitral tribunal or the parties have already made unsuccessful efforts. There is a distinction between parties and non-par - ties. Whereas the parties to arbitration agreements are obligated to comply with the tribunal’s orders, non- parties are not. Confidentiality is a fundamental principle of arbitral proceedings under Vietnamese law. Pursuant to Arti - cle 4.4 of the LCA, arbitration must be conducted in private unless the parties agree otherwise. This means that only arbitrators, the parties, their legal representa - tives, experts, or witnesses may attend the hearings. Parties’ submissions, related documents, evidence, and arbitral awards are all treated as confidential. However, disclosure of information from arbitral pro - ceedings may be permitted or required in the following situations. 9. Confidentiality 9.1 Extent of Confidentiality
• Court enforcement or challenge ‒ if a party seeks to enforce or set aside an arbitral award in court, relevant documents may need to be submitted to the court. • Party agreement ‒ the parties may agree to waive confidentiality, either wholly or partially.
10. The Award 10.1 Legal Requirements
Pursuant to Articles 60 and 61 of the LCA, an arbitral award must satisfy the following legal requirements. • Formality ‒ an arbitral award must be in writing. • Content ‒ an arbitral award must contain the fol - lowing main components: (a) date and location of issuance of the award; (b) names and addresses of the claimant and of the respondent; (c) full names and addresses of the arbitrator(s); (d) summary of the statement of claim and mat - ters in dispute; (e) reasons for the issuance of the award, unless the parties agree it is unnecessary to specify reasons for the award; (f) result of the dispute resolution; (g) time limit for enforcement of the award; (h) allocation of arbitration fees and other relevant fees; and (i) signatures of the arbitrator(s) – if an arbitrator does not sign the arbitral award, the presiding arbitrator must record such fact in the arbitral award and specify the reason (in such cases, the arbitral award will still be effective). • Voting procedure ‒ the arbitral tribunal will issue an arbitral award by majority vote. If a majority vote is not obtained, the arbitral award will be made in accordance with the opinion of the presiding arbitrator. • Time limits on the issuance and delivery of the award ‒ the award must be issued no later than 30 days from the conclusion of the final hearing. It must be sent to the parties promptly after the date of issuance.
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