VIETNAM Law and Practice Contributed by: Vinh Luu, Phong Tran, The Nghiem and Thu Nguyen, Asia Legal
9. Confidentiality 9.1 Extent of Confidentiality
• the admissibility, relevance, materiality and weight of the evidence; • whether to admit documentary, witness or expert evidence; and • the timetable and procedures for the submission and exchange of evidence. The parties remain responsible for producing evidence in support of their claims and defences, while the tri - bunal may request additional evidence or take meas - ures to collect evidence in accordance with the LCA. By contrast, Vietnamese court proceedings are gener - ally subject to more formal evidentiary rules under the Civil Procedure Code 2015. Courts typically require stricter compliance with statutory requirements regarding the form and admissibility of evidence, including, where applicable, notarisation, certification, authentication or legalisation of documents. Accordingly, the evidentiary regime in arbitration is generally more flexible than that applicable in domes - tic court proceedings. Subject to the mandatory pro - visions of the LCA, parties may also agree to adopt internationally recognised soft-law instruments, such as the IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence in Interna - tional Arbitration; however, such rules have no manda - A tribunal has no coercive power over a non-party and cannot itself compel a third party to produce docu - ments or attend a hearing, a limitation common to arbitral tribunals generally. Under Articles 46 and 47 of the LCA, a tribunal may request the assistance of the competent court to summon a witness or to compel document production from a party or non-party who declines to cooperate voluntarily. As between the par - ties themselves, a party is generally expected to com - ply with a tribunal’s own production order as a matter of the arbitration agreement and the applicable rules, whereas a non-party can only be compelled with the court’s assistance, a distinction international counsel will recognise from most other seats. tory force under Vietnamese law. 8.3 Powers of Compulsion
Article 4.4 of the LCA establishes non-public proceed - ings as a default principle, meaning hearings are con - ducted in private unless the parties agree otherwise, a starting position broadly similar to most institutional arbitration regimes. The LCA also imposes confidentiality obligations on arbitrators, who must not disclose information relat - ing to the dispute except where disclosure is required by law. In practice, institutional rules (for example the VIAC Rules 2026) and contractual confidential - ity clauses often provide additional protection for the parties and the arbitral process. Confidentiality is not, however, absolute. Information and documents from an arbitration may be disclosed where required by law or necessary in related judicial proceedings, such as applications for interim meas - ures, setting aside an arbitral award or the recognition and enforcement of an award. Outside these circum - stances, there is no general right to disclose infor - mation obtained in the arbitration without the parties’ agreement or another legal basis. Article 61 of the LCA sets out the formal requirements for a valid award, requirements that will look familiar to most international practitioners in substance. The award must be in writing and signed by all or a major - ity, of the tribunal, with any dissent recorded and must state the date and place of the award, the parties’ names and addresses, a summary of the claims and the issues in dispute, the facts and reasoning sup - porting the tribunal’s decision unless the parties have agreed that reasons are not required, the operative decision itself, the allocation of arbitration fees and costs and the time limit for payment. As for timing, the LCA does impose a statutory dead - line. Under Article 61.3, the award must be issued either immediately at the hearing or, at the latest, within thirty days from the closing of the final hearing 10. The Award 10.1 Legal Requirements
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