VIETNAM Law and Practice Contributed by: Tung Ngo, Linh D. Nguyen and Minh Doan, VILAF
12. Enforcement of an Award 12.1 New York Convention
Effect of Set-Aside or Pending Proceedings in the Seat of Arbitration Under Article V of the New York Convention and Arti - cles 424.3 and 459.1 (g) of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code, a foreign arbitral award that has been set aside by a competent court in the seat of arbitration cannot be enforced in Vietnam. If an award is subject to ongo - ing set-aside proceedings in the seat of arbitration, Vietnamese courts will likely suspend the recognition and enforcement process until those proceedings are resolved. Sovereign Immunity in Enforcement Proceedings Where a state or state entity has entered a commer - cial contract and agreed to arbitration, Vietnamese courts are unlikely to accept sovereign immunity as a defence. Moreover, as a signatory to the New York Convention, Vietnam is bound to recognise and enforce foreign arbitral awards ‒ subject only to the limited exceptions listed in Article V. Consequently, a state or state entity may face significant difficulty invoking sovereign immunity if it voluntarily partici - pated in the arbitration and the dispute arises from a commercial activity. 12.3 Approach of the Courts Article 459 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code sets out the grounds on which Vietnamese courts may refuse to recognise and enforce a foreign arbitral award. Such grounds include that: • the parties to the arbitration agreement lacked legal capacity under the law applicable to each party; • the arbitration agreement is invalid under the law chosen by the parties or, if no law was chosen, under the law of the seat of arbitration; • the respondent was not properly notified of the appointment of the arbitrator or the arbitral pro - ceedings, or was otherwise unable to exercise procedural rights; • the award was rendered in respect of a dispute not requested by the parties to be resolved by arbitra - tion or the award exceeds the scope of the arbitra - tion agreement (recognition may still be granted for the separable portion of the award);
Vietnam has signed and ratified the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the “New York Convention”), subject to the following reservations. • The New York Convention will apply only to the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards made in the territory of another contracting state. For awards rendered in non-contracting states, Vietnam will apply the New York Convention on the basis of reciprocity. • The New York Convention will apply only to dis - putes arising from legal relationships that are con - sidered commercial under Vietnamese law. • The interpretation and application of the New York Convention by Vietnamese courts or competent authorities must be consistent with the Vietnamese Constitution and the laws of Vietnam. Furthermore, at the time of writing (July 2025), Viet - nam is a party to several bilateral agreements on mutual legal assistance in civil matters. These agree - ments include provisions governing the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. 12.2 Enforcement Procedure The procedures for enforcement in Vietnam depend on whether the arbitral award is domestic or foreign. • Domestic awards ‒ pursuant to Article 65 of the LCA, parties are encouraged to voluntarily com - ply with arbitral awards. If a party fails to do so, coercive enforcement is governed by the 2015 Civil Procedure Code and the Law on Enforcement of Civil Judgments. • Foreign awards ‒ enforcement is governed by the 2015 Civil Procedure Code and the New York Convention. A party must file a request with the competent Vietnamese court for recognition and enforcement of the foreign award. After the for - eign award is recognised by the court, it can be enforced in Vietnam.
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