VIETNAM Law and Practice Contributed by: Vinh Luu, Phong Tran, The Nghiem and Thu Nguyen, Asia Legal
2.2 Changes to National Law For readers unfamiliar with Vietnam’s legislative frame - work, it may be helpful to note that: • laws are enacted by the National Assembly; • decrees are issued by the Government to imple - ment laws; and • resolutions are issued by the National Assembly, its Standing Committee or the Judges’ Council of the Supreme People’s Court to address specific issues or ensure the uniform application of the laws. The LCA has not been amended in the past year; however, three related developments have materially affected arbitration practice, as outlined below. Court Reform Effective from 1 July 2025, Law No 81/2025/QH15 restructured Vietnam’s court system by replacing district-level courts with Regional People’s Courts. In parallel, Resolution No 81/2025/UBTVQH15 central - ised jurisdiction over applications to set aside arbi - tral awards in only three Provincial People’s Courts (Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City), to promote greater judicial consistency and expertise. Regional People’s Courts now handle other arbitration-related court functions, including applications for interim measures and the appointment of arbitrators in ad hoc proceedings. International Financial Centre Resolution No 222/2025/QH15 established the Viet - nam International Financial Centre, while Decree No 328/2025/ND-CP created an International Arbitration Center within the Centre. A notable feature is that par - ties may agree in writing to waive their right to apply to a Vietnamese court to set aside an arbitral award rendered by this institution, a mechanism unavailable under the LCA. Pending Amendments to the LCA A draft law prepared by the Vietnam Lawyers Associa - tion remains under consideration. The proposal would expand the scope of arbitrable disputes, introduce emergency arbitrator provisions, clarify and narrow the grounds for setting aside arbitral awards and revise the applicable limitation rules. As of the date
of this guide, the draft has not yet been submitted to the National Assembly for adoption. VIAC Rules Separately, although not a legislative change, the VIAC Rules 2026, effective from 1 July 2026, replaced the 2017 Rules and represent the most significant recent procedural development in institutional arbitration practice in Vietnam.
3. The Arbitration Agreement 3.1 Enforceability
Under Vietnamese law, a fundamental prerequisite for an arbitration agreement to be enforceable is that the parties must mutually agree to use arbitration to resolve their disputes. Additionally, to prevent the arbi - tration agreement from being declared null and void, it must satisfy four key conditions stipulated by the LCA and Resolution 01/2014/NQ-HDTP: • firstly, the subject-matter dispute must fall within the jurisdictional competence of arbitration (com - mercial disputes or matters designated by law); • secondly, the persons executing the agreement must possess full civil legal capacity; • thirdly, the signatories must have the proper legal authority to establish the agreement (for example, legal representatives or authorised agents); and • finally, the form of the agreement must comply with legal regulations, meaning it must strictly be made in writing, satisfying the written requirement through contract clauses, separate documents, electronic communications or incorporation by reference; furthermore, the agreement must be entered into voluntarily without fraud or duress and comply with Vietnamese laws. 3.2 Arbitrability Under the LCA, the arbitrability of a dispute is pri - marily determined by the nature of the dispute and whether Vietnamese law permits it to be resolved by arbitration. The following principles apply:
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