Viet Nam - Central Authority (Art. 2) and practical information
Central Authority(ies):
Ministry of Justice
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Contact details: |
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| Address: | Ministry of Justice International Law Department 58-60 Tran Phu Street, Ba Dinh District, Ha Noi Viet Nam |
| Telephone: | +84 (24) 62739451 +84 (24) 62739445 +84 (24) 62739532 |
| Fax: | |
| E-mail: | mlavietnam@moj.gov.vn haguevietnam@moj.gov.vn |
| General website: | https://moj.gov.vn/tttp/tintuc/Pages/tuong-tro-tu-phap.aspx |
| Contact person: | Ms Pham Ho Huong, Deputy Director of International Law Department |
| Languages spoken by staff: | Vietnamese, English |
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Practical Information |
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| Blocking statutes: |
The provision of information relating to state secret is limited and must be authorized by the competent authorities (Article 16 Law on State Secrets Protection 2018). In addition, the provision of information relating to working secret of governmental entities or organization is also limited. The provision of the above-mentioned information without permission may contribute to crimes in the Penal Code (Articles 337, and 361 of the Penal Code). |
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Chapter I |
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| Transmission of Letters of Requests: | Outgoing Letters of Request are sent from a judicial authority in Viet Nam to the Ministry of Justice, which transmits them to the Central Authority of the requested State. Incoming Letters of Request from foreign authorities are received by the Ministry of Justice, which transmits them to the local court for execution. |
| Authority responsible for informing of the time and place of the execution of Letter of Request (Art. 7): |
The Ministry of Justice (the Central Authority) will provide notice to the parties and their representatives if so requested. To accelerate the process of notice, it would be better if the email addresses of the parties and their representatives are included in the Letter of Request. |
| Presence of judicial personnel at the execution of the Letter of Request (Art. 8): | No declaration of applicability. |
| Privileges and duties existing under the law of States other than the State of origin and the State of execution (Art. 11): |
No declaration of applicability. |
| Translation requirements Arts 4(2) and 33): |
Accepts Letters of Requests written in or translated into Vietnamese language. |
| Costs relating to execution of the Letters of Request (Arts 14(2)(3) and 26): |
Viet Nam seeks payment of costs under Articles 14(2). |
| Time for execution: | On average, the time for execution a Letter of request is approximately 6 months since the date the local court receives the Letter of request and attached documents. |
| Pre-trial discovery of documents Art. 23): |
Qualified declaration. |
| Information about domestic rules on the taking of evidence: | Key provisions Civil Procedure Code 2015 http://vbpl.vn/FileData/TW/Lists/vbpq/Attachments/96115/VanBanGoc_92.2015.QH13.P1.pdf (Vietnamese only) Law on mutual legal assistance 2007 http://vbpl.vn/botuphap/Pages/vbpq-toanvan.aspx?ItemID=26995&Keyword= (Vietnamese only) Joint Circular 12/2016/TTLT-BTP-BNG-TANDTC http://vbpl.vn/botuphap/Pages/vbpq-toanvan.aspx?ItemID=115548&Keyword= (Vietnamese only) |
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Witness examination under Chapter I |
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| Should Letters of Request include specific questions to be used during witness examination or only a list of matters to be addressed? | The Letter of Request must provide sufficient details so that the judge can understand and execute the request. Thus, it would be better if both the questions to be asked and the list of matters to be addressed are provided. |
| Is it a public or private hearing? | Usually, the judge will make an arrangement to take evidence at the courthouse or at the address of the witness. So it is seldom an opportunity for unrelated parties to be aware of or to attend the process. |
| Do the judicial authorities "blue-pencil" Letters of Requests (i.e. rephrase, restructure and / or strike out objectionable questions or offensive wording so that a Letter of Request may be executed under the laws of the requested State)? | Yes. |
| Is the witness provided in advance with a copy of the questions / matters to be addressed as contained in the Letter of Request? | Yes, especially when the witness provides the information by a written affidavit (they write down their answer for the provided questions) |
| Are documents produced by the witness authenticated by the court? | No, however the written affidavit of a witness made in the courthouse may be certified by the court if the witness so requests. |
| Is an oath generally administered to the witness? | No, but the witness has to take an affirmation (He/ she has to commit himself/ herself to fulfill the obligations of the witness. The affirmation does not apply to a minor witness who is less than 18 years old). |
| Can the witness be made subject to further examination and recall? | No. However, if recall is needed for additional testimony, a second request will have to be provided. |
| Are there sanctions for non-appearance of witness? | The court may order administrative fine on the witness. |
| Must interpreters who assist with the witness examination be court-certified? | No. The interpreter is capable of interprete foreign language into Vietnamese and vice versa. If a party or both parties choose an interpreter, the court will accept their choice or the court may rely on interpreters who have experiences in previous cases. |
| How is the testimony transcribed? | Usually, one person can choose between written affidavit or deposition (the testimony is written by the court clerk or the judge). Verbal testimony can also be transcribed by other methods if it is feasible and requested by the foreign authorities. However, these methods may cause some costs. |
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Chapter II |
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| Article 15 | Declaration of non- applicability |
| Article 16 | Declaration of non- applicability |
| Article 17 | Declaration of non- applicability |
| Article 18 | Declaration of non- applicability |
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Taking of evidence by video-links |
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Chapter I |
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| Are there legal obstacles to the use of video links? | No. However, until now there is no domestic provision on this issue, thus, the execution of the request by video-links may face some practical difficulties. |
| Technology used: | No information available. |
| Level of interpretation required: | No information available. |
| Simultaneous or in sequence interpretation: | No information available. |
| Interpretation required in which jurisdiction? | No information available. |
| Who pays for the interpretation? | No information available. |
| How would a request for evidence be handled if witness not willing? | There is no provision under Vietnamese law prohibiting a witness to voluntarily submit to an international video conference in which his or her testimony will be obtained by a foreign court or foreign litigators (if their testimony does not violate the legal limitation as described above). The Civil Procedure Code allows the Vietnamese court to compel the witness to be present before the Vietnamese court. However, the Vietnamese Central Authority is aware of no Vietnamese law that would permit a court to compel a witness in Viet Nam to provide such testimony before a foreign tribunal or proceedings. |
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Chapter II |
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| Are there legal obstacles to the use of video links? | |
| Technology used: | |
| Level of interpretation required: | |
| Simultaneous or in sequence interpretation: | |
| Interpretation required in which jurisdiction? | |
| Who pays for the interpretation? | |
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Other Information |
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| Bilateral or multilateral agreements | Bilateral Agreements on mutual judicial assistance in civil and commercial matters: Slovensko - Czech and Slovakia succeed (12 October 1982); Cuba (30 November 1984); Bulgaria (03 October 1986); Poland (22 March 1993); Lao PDR (06 July 1998); Russian Federation (25 August 1998); People's Republic of China (19 October 1998); France (24 February 1999); Ukraine (06 April 2000); Mongolia (17 April 2000); Belarus (14 September 2000); North Korea (3 May 2002); Chinese Taipei (12 April 2010); Algeria (14 April 2010); Kazakhstan (31 October 2011); Kingdom of Cambodia (21 January 2013); Hungary (10 September 2018). |
| Useful links: | http://vbpl.vn/Pages/danh-sach-dieu-uoc.aspx?DULinhVuc=9 (Vietnamese only) |
| Competent authorities (Art. 17) | |
| Additional authorities (Art. 24) | |
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