VIETNAM Law and Practice Contributed by: Vinh Luu, Phong Tran, The Nghiem and Thu Nguyen, Asia Legal
4.2 Default Procedures Formation of an Arbitration Council at an Arbitration Centre
where necessary to ensure equal treatment and pro - cedural fairness, appoints all members of the arbitral tribunal. 4.3 Court Intervention Under LCA (Article 41.1, Article 41.2), Vietnamese courts may intervene in the appointment of arbitra - tors, but only in the limited circumstances as (see 4.2 Default Procedures ). Court intervention is intended to facilitate the constitution of the arbitral tribunal where the agreed appointment mechanism has failed, rather than to replace the parties’ autonomy in selecting arbi - trators. Accordingly, the court’s role is supportive rather than supervisory. It may intervene only in the circumstanc - es expressly provided by the LCA and has no author - ity to appoint, remove or replace arbitrators outside those statutory grounds. 4.4 Challenge and Removal of Arbitrators Pursuant to Article 42.1 of the LCA, any arbitrator may be challenged if circumstances exist that give rise to justifiable doubts as to the arbitrator’s impartiality or independence, specifically: • the arbitrator is a relative or representative of a party; • the arbitrator has an interest related to the dispute; • there is clear evidence that the arbitrator is not impartial or objective; • the arbitrator was a conciliator, representative or lawyer for any party before the dispute was brought to arbitration, unless the parties give writ - ten consent. An arbitrator can also be challenged if they do not meet the qualifications and conditions required to be an arbitrator. However, in practice, such cases are rare because arbitration centres typically thoroughly vet arbitrators to ensure compliance and protect the centre’s reputation. An arbitrator must refuse to settle a dispute and may be replaced if they are a relative or representative of a party, have an interest in the dispute, lack impartial - ity or were previously a conciliator, representative or lawyer for a party.
• Under LCA (Article 40.1, Article 40.2), within 30 days after receiving the petition and request for selecting an arbitrator sent by the arbitration center, the Defendant shall select an arbitrator and notify such to the arbitration center or request the arbitration center’s chairman to designate an arbi - trator, otherwise, within 7 days after the expiration of the time limit, the arbitration center’s chairman shall designate an arbitrator for the Defendant. • For a dispute involving many Defendants, within 30 days after the petition sent by the arbitration centre, the Defendants shall agree to select an arbitrator or to request designation of an arbitra - tor. If the Defendants cannot select an arbitrator, within 7 days after the expiration of the time limit, the arbitration centre’s chairman shall designate an arbitrator for the Defendants. Formation of Ad Hoc Arbitration Councils • Under LCA (Article 41.1, Article 41.2), within 30 days after receiving the Plaintiff’s petition, the Defendant shall select an arbitrator and notify the Plaintiff of the selection. Past this time limit, if the Defendant fails to notify the Plaintiff of the name of the selected arbitrator and the Parties do not otherwise agree on designation of an arbitrator, the Plaintiff may request a competent court to desig - nate an arbitrator for the Defendant. • For a dispute involving many Defendants, these Defendants shall agree to select an arbitrator within 30 days after receiving the Plaintiff’s petition and enclosed documents. Past this time limit, if the Defendants cannot select an arbitrator and the Parties do not otherwise agree on designation of an arbitrator, one Party or all Parties may request a competent court to designate an arbitrator for the Defendants. Establishing a Concrete Default Mechanism Under the VIAC Rules 2026 Multiple claimants or multiple respondents must jointly nominate a co-arbitrator. If either side fails to reach a consensus on a joint nomination within the prescribed time limit, VIAC (the President of VIAC) steps in to appoint the co-arbitrator for that side. Conversely,
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