The burden of proof regarding mitigation obligation in case of a damage claim under Vietnam contract law

Under the Commercial Law 2005, when a non-defaulting party makes a claim for damage due to a breach of contract, the non-defaulting party has the obligations to mitigate the damages it has suffered (Duty To Mitigate). However, Commercial Law 2005 is silent on whether the responsibility to prove the non-defaulting party’s fulfillment or (non-fulfillment) of Duty To Mitigate belongs to the defaulting party or the non-defaulting party. That said, it is likely that the defaulting party will have the obligation to prove that the non-defaulting party fails to mitigate the damages it has suffered.

One could argue that the non-defaulting party has the burden of proof of its fulfillment with the Duty To Mitigate because Article 304 of Commercial Law 2005 provides that the party claiming for damage must prove the “the loss, the extent of the loss” caused by the breach of the defaulting party. Arguably, “the extent of loss” must be proved by the non-defaulting party should exclude the amount of loss which could have been mitigated if the non-defaulting has fulfilled its Duty To Mitigate (i.e. all reasonable measures have been taken to mitigate the loss). In other words, to prove or request the defaulting party to compensate for a specific amount of damage, the non-defaulting party must take into account the fulfillment of its Duty To Mitigate and is responsible for proving that it has complied with its Duty To Mitigate.

Would transactions between parties outside Vietnam (offshore transactions) be caught by merger control legislation?

Under the Competition Law 2018, any transaction “causing the effect or being capable of causing the effect of significantly restricting competition in the market of Vietnam” is prohibited. As such, an offshore transaction will be caught by merger control requirement if it has actual or potential anti-competitive impact on a relevant market of Vietnam. In particular, an offshore transaction may be subject to notification requirement under Vietnamese laws where a party to the transaction or its affiliates have assets, sale revenue or purchase costs in Vietnam and the transaction triggers any of the applicable notifying thresholds discussed here (except for size of transaction test). ‎

Re-execution of a Government Land Lease Agreement in case of assigning of land use rights in Vietnam

In Vietnam, leasing land directly from the State is a common option to acquire land use right (LUR). That means one, as master “land user” (người sử dụng đất), needs to sign a land lease agreement (LLA) with State, by which it is obligated to pay land rental. Depending on the choice of the land user, the land rental could be paid in lump sum for the whole term or annual basis. Regarding the former case, the land law allows the land user (Assignor) to assign its LUR to another entity (Assignee) via, among others, sale of or capital contribution in form of LUR (generally, assignment). Meanwhile, the law does not make it clear on whether the Assignee should sign a new LLA with State as a result of the LUR assignment. In particular,

Can Foreigner Engage In An Indefinite Term Employment In Vietnam Under Labour Code 2012?

The current Labor Code 2012 does not make it clear on whether a foreigner could be entitled to an indefinite term employment contract (ITEC) although the foreigner only has a work permit with limited term (two years at the maximum). In theory, the foreigner can demand for an ITEC with the employer based on the following legal basis and arguments:

  • Article 22.2 of the Labor Code 2012 generally suggests that any employees will be entitled to an ITEC after two consecutive definite term employment contracts. Technically, a foreign employee can also enjoy this treatment;