VIETNAM Law and Practice Contributed by: Stephen Le Hoang Chuong, Le & Tran
conclusion and summon the expert to the trial or session to directly present testimony or evi- dence to support their conclusion. 7.6 Extent to Which Hearings Are Open to the Public The Vietnamese CPC states that hearings and transcripts of hearings are open to the public unless the court orders otherwise. The court may order a hearing to be closed to the public if it determines that there is a compelling reason to do so, such as: • to protect the privacy of a child or other vul- nerable person; • to protect the confidentiality of a trade secret or other confidential information; or • cases involving state secrets. 7.7 Level of Intervention by a Judge The level of intervention by a judge during a hearing or trial in Vietnam varies depending on the judge and the case. Generally, the judge retains complete control over the proceedings, and the litigants are only permitted to speak at the hearing if they are allowed. In some cases, the judge may issue a judgment or make decisions at the hearing. This is more likely to happen in cases where the evidence is clear and there are no complex legal issues to be resolved. For example, the judge may issue a judgment at the hearing in a case where: • the defendant admits liability; • the parties have reached a settlement agree- ment; or • the court has all of the evidence it needs to make a decision. In other cases, the judge may reserve judgment for a later date. This is more likely to happen in
cases where the evidence is complex or there are difficult legal issues to be resolved. For example, the judge may reserve judgment for a later date in a case where: • the parties have not reached a settlement agreement; • the court needs to obtain additional evidence; or • the court needs to consider complex legal issues. 7.8 General Timeframes for Proceedings Under Vietnamese law, the timeframe for pro- ceedings from the commencement of claim through to trial is four months. However, in reality, the timeframe for proceed- ings from commencement of the claim to trial, and the typical duration of trials for commercial disputes in Vietnam, can vary depending on the complexity of the case and the workload of the court. Accordingly, the process from filing a claim to the issuance of a first instance judg- ment in a commercial dispute can typically take anywhere from several months to a few years. The parties to a lawsuit have the right to reach a settlement without court approval. In these cas- es, the parties will withdraw their claims against each other. If the parties desire to reach a settlement agree- ment during the proceedings with the court’s approval, at the request of the parties the court will issue the minutes of a successful mediation and decisions to recognise the involved par- ties’ agreement. The decisions to recognise the 8. Settlement 8.1 Court Approval
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