New sources of law in Vietnam - Court precedents and equity

From 1 January 2017, court precedents and “equity principles” (lẽ công bằng) will be the new sources of laws to govern civil relations in Vietnam. Under the new Civil Code 2015, court precedents and equity principles are now expressly allowed to be used to apply to a civil relation if there is no law or customs governing the same. Court precedents are judgements which are selected and announced by the Supreme Court so that lower courts can study and apply when hearing cases. Under the new Civil Procedure Code 2015, equity principles are determined based on rightful principles which are accepted by the society, and consistent with principle of humanity, principle of impartial and equality in terms of rights and obligations of the parties to a dispute.

VALIDITY OF A CONTRACT DENOMINATED IN US$ AND SETTLED IN VND (Updated)

In June 2015, the first instance court decides that a contract in the territory of Vietnam that is denominated in US$ but settled in VND is not invalid. In December 2015, according to newspaper report, the appeal court has revoked a decision of the first instance court and held such a contract invalid in its entirety. This is a surprise development and may cause concern to many business transactions in Vietnam which have relied on a more relax view of the court earlier.

Info

Comment

Implementation of international investment treaties in Vietnam

Under Decree 118/2015, if a foreign investor is subject to multiple international treaties on the same industry or business line then the foreign investor is entitled to select one of the applicable international treaty. And if the foreign investor has selected to follow one international treaty then the investor will need to comply the provisions of such international treaty as a whole. In other words, under Decree 118/2015, a foreign investor may not be able to cherry pick the most favourable provisions of different international treaties in its favour.

Setting Up A Joint Venture Limited Liability Life Insurance Company In Vietnam

Below are key requirements and procedures for setting up a joint venture life insurance (JV) in form of a limited liability company (LLC) between a foreign insurer and a local partner. This post is contributed by Mai Chi, a VILAF trainee.

Vietnam Business Law