VIETNAM Law and Practice Contributed by: Stephen Le Hoang Chuong, Le & Tran
• individuals authorised to represent the entity as prescribed by law; and • court-appointed representatives during legal proceedings; notably, a legal entity may have multiple legal representatives, each with the right to represent it. According to the above regulations, these legal representatives will be the natural legal repre- sentatives when participating in civil transaction processes as well as participating in and resolv- ing cases in court. In addition, the Civil Code also provides for authorised representation, meaning that indi- viduals and legal entities can authorise other individuals and legal entities to establish and perform civil transactions. Normally, lawyers can obtain authorisation from their clients to partici- pate in resolving the cases. However, it should be noted that the rights and obligations of litigants in a case will differ from those of lawyers in a lawsuit. Therefore, once a lawyer has participated in the settlement as an authorised representative, they will not be able to participate in the settlement as a lawyer at the same time. In addition, the 2015 Civil Procedure Code (CPC) does not allow authorisation to resolve some specific cases, such as divorce cases, in which lawyers are only allowed to participate as advo- cates. In any court proceeding, the rights of audience are required to be a licensed attorney-at-law, and lawyers are required to be appointed by the client and registered with the court to participate in the case.
Foreign lawyers do not enjoy automatic rights of audience in Vietnamese courts. However, a for- eign lawyer could participate in arbitration as an authorised representative of the involved party or as a lawyer (if a practice certificate in Vietnam is obtained). 2. Litigation Funding 2.1 Third-Party Litigation Funding Vietnamese laws are silent on third-party litiga- tion funding, and it is not a common practice in the country. As a result, third-party litigation funding is acceptable as long as it complies with the applicable laws of Vietnam, such as the Civil Code and regulations on funding. The funder is not recognised as a party in the litigation pro- ceedings. 2.2 Third-Party Funding: Lawsuits Third-party funding lawsuits are unregulated in Vietnam. 2.3 Third-Party Funding for Plaintiff and Defendant Vietnamese laws are silent on third-party litiga- tion funding. Generally speaking, both parties are considered to have access to third-party funding. 2.4 Minimum and Maximum Amounts of Third-Party Funding There is no regulatory law governing this prac- tice regarding the minimum or maximum amount of third-party funding. 2.5 Types of Costs Considered Under Third-Party Funding As Vietnamese laws are silent on third-party liti- gation funding, the cost shall be subject to the agreement between the funder and litigants.
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