BAILIFF’S REPORT AND THE LEGAL VALUE OF BAILIFF’S REPORT IN DISPUTE RESOLUTION
In certain civil and commercial transactions, when disputes arise, the parties often face difficulties in providing evidence and proving the other party’s violations. Practice shows that many cases have been disadvantaged merely due to the lack of evidence recording the events that have occurred or because the evidence failed to meet legal formality requirements. In this context, the bailiff’s report is considered an evidentiary tool with legal value, helping to objectively record actual events and acts, thereby protecting the lawful rights and interests of the parties. This article will analyze the legal value of bailiffs’ reports to help individuals and organizations effectively use this document in dispute resolution processes.
I. Definition of the Bailiff’s Report
According to Article 2.3 of Decree No. 08/2020/ND-CP on the organization and operation of Bailiffs (“Decree No. 08/2020/ND-CP”), a bailiff’s report is a document directly witnessed, prepared by a Bailiff at the request of an individual, agency, or organization to record a factual event or act.
Thus, the purpose of a bailiff’s reports is to record actual events, acts that have occurred, such as the transfer of money between the parties, the handover of documents, the content of messages, or acts of law violation. To ensure the accuracy of information, the bailiff’s report must be directly witnessed and prepared by a Bailiff. The making of a bailiff’s report must be carried out in accordance with the order and procedures prescribed by law, ensuring objectivity, truthfulness, and legality.
According to Article 2.1 of Decree No. 08/2020/ND-CP, the Bailiff is a person who meets the qualifications and is appointed by the State to perform the making of bailiff’s reports. Accordingly, the Bailiff has the right to make bailiff’s reports to record factual events or acts at the request of agencies or organizations nationwide.
However, the law also stipulates some special cases in which the Bailiff is not permitted to make a bailiff’s reports according to Article 37 of Decree No. 08/2020/ND-CP, for example cases involving violations of national defense, security regulations; violations of private life, personal secrets; certification of contents or signatures in contracts and transactions that fall within the scope of notarization activities; recording events, acts for the transfer of land use rights or ownership of property without documents proving land use rights, ownership; …
II. The legal value of the bailiff’s reports in litigation
2.1. The bailiff’s reports is lawful evidence
Article 36.3 of Decree No. 08/2020/ND-CP stipulates that the bailiff’s reports is a source of evidence for the Court to consider when resolving civil and administrative cases in accordance with the law; and serves as a basis for conducting transactions between agencies, organizations, individuals in accordance with the law. At the same time, Article 94.8 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015 also stipulates that document recording legal events, acts, prepared by competent persons, are one of the sources of evidence.
Accordingly, the bailiff’s report is considered important evidence to record acts and events that have actually occurred. In some cases, the Bailiffs may prepare bailiff’s reports recording the content of messages, emails exchanged between the parties to confirm that such messages or emails are real. In such cases, the Court may consider the bailiff’s reports to resolve the case.
In addition, according to Article 36.2 of Decree No. 08/2020/ND-CP, the bailiff’s reports does not replace a notarized document, a certified document, or other administrative documents. It should be noted that both notaries and bailiffs directly witness actual acts, events. However, the notarized record only records the factual acts, events, without certifying their accuracy, legality in the same way as a notarized document.
2.2. Grounds for assessing the evidentiary value of the bailiff’s reports
In judicial practice, although the bailiff’s report is legally recognized as lawful evidence, the Court will not automatically accept the entire content of the bailiff’s report. Instead, it will comprehensively review and evaluate the process of making the bailiff’s reports and its content to determine its probative value in that case. Some key criteria commonly considered by the Court to assess the value of the bailiff’s reports include:
– The legality of making the bailiff’s reports: To verify this, the Court may examine the Bailiff’s authority, the scope of authority to make the bailiff’s report, and whether the form and procedures for making the bailiff’s report comply with legal regulations. If the bailiff’s report does not satisfy sufficient conditions, or is not registered with the Department of Justice, it may be considered to have no legal validity. For example, the procedure for making a bailiff’s report requires the Bailiff to directly witness and record the event. However, if the Bailiff does not directly witness the event or act but instead makes the bailiff’s report based on documents or indirect statements, this is considered a violation of the procedures and principles for making bailiff’s report, potentially rendering the report legally invalid.
– Objectivity and truthfulness of the content of the bailiff’s report: To determine whether the bailiff’s report ensures objectivity and truthfulness, the Court can assess whether it describes the events or acts it describes events and acts honestly and accurately, without being edited, altered. In cases where the bailiff’s report only records part of the event or omits important details that affect the nature of the case, the Court may consider such a bailiff’s report to have only referential value rather than full evidentiary value.
– Consistency of the bailiff’s report with other evidence: To resolve a case, the Court will consider all lawful documents, evidence provided by the parties. Therefore, a bailiff’s report is not evidence that determines the outcome of a case; instead, its value depends on the consistency and supporting relationship between its content and other documents and evidence in the case file. If the bailiff’s report is consistent with and reinforces other evidence, the Court may consider it highly persuasive evidence. Conversely, if it contradicts testimonies, contracts, minutes, or other documents, the Court may treat the bailiff’s report as only indirect evidence or may even exclude its probative value.
Throughout legal practice, TNTP recognizes that the bailiff’s report is an important source of evidence in dispute resolution. Proactively making and properly storing notarized records in a timely manner helps individuals and businesses better protect their rights and reduce risks when disputes arise. However, it is necessary to clearly understand the nature, procedures, and process of making bailiff’s report in order to maximize their legal value.
The above is TNTP’s article on bailiff’s report and the legal value of bailiff’s report in dispute resolution. TNTP hopes that this article has provided useful legal information to Esteemed Readers.
TNTP & Associates International Law Firm
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