VIETNAM Law and Practice Contributed by: Stephen Le Hoang Chuong, Le & Tran
2.6 Contingency Fees Contingency fees are treated as a conditional transaction. However, the Law on Lawyers, as well as the Code of Professional Ethics of Law- yers, prohibits the following acts: • receiving or demanding any additional amount of money, or any other benefits from the client other than the remuneration and costs agreed with the client in the legal ser- vice contract; or • promising or committing to ensuring the outcome of a case beyond the lawyer’s ability and condition to perform. Therefore, when entering into a legal service contract, lawyers must clarify the terms and conditions related to this fee to avoid violations. In addition, for civil lawsuits, there is no limita- tion on the fee amount, but in criminal cases, the fee is limited in proportion to the applicable base salary. 2.7 Time Limit for Obtaining Third-Party Funding Vietnamese laws are silent on time limits for obtaining third-party litigation funding.
3.2 Statutes of Limitations The statute of limitation differs depending on the type of dispute: • civil contract disputes: three years; • tort disputes: three years; • commercial contract disputes: two years; • disputes with a logistics trader: nine months; • maritime transport disputes: two years; • inland waterway transport disputes or compensation for damages; loss of goods according to shipping document in maritime transport; or disputes on refund of compen- sation in excess of liability in maritime trans- port: one year; • railway business contract disputes: two years; • labour disputes: one year (for some types of labour dispute, the pre-action conduct is mediation – the time limitation for requesting the mediation is six months); • insurance disputes: three years; • inheritance disputes: three years, ten years or 30 years, depending on the type of dispute; • disputes related to transfer instruments: three years; • claims for damage to passengers, luggage or goods in air transport: two years; • claims for damages of a third person on the ground in connection with air transport: two years; • personal injury claims: three years; and • protection, or land use rights disputes: unlim- ited. Generally, the statute of limitation commences from the time the plaintiff becomes aware, or reasonably should have become aware, of the violation of their legitimate rights.
3. Initiating a Lawsuit 3.1 Rules on Pre-action Conduct
There are pre-action conduct rules applicable in some types of lawsuits concerning labour rela- tionships or land use rights disputes. In specific instances, parties may be obligated to engage in mediation proceedings prior to initiating legal action in court or conduct pre-action steps as stipulated in agreements between the parties. Failure to fulfil these pre-action requirements can result in the court refusing to initiate the lawsuit.
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