PROCEDURES FOR REQUESTING THE CANCELLATION OF AN ARBITRAL AWARD IN VIETNAM

The Arbitral Award is final and binding on the parties. However, the disputing parties have the right to submit a Petition for cancellation of the Arbitral Award to the competent Court for consideration if there are enough grounds proving that the entire or a part of the Arbitral Award infringes their legitimate rights and interests. In this article, we would like to share our legal experience to guide you on the procedures for requesting the cancellation of the Arbitration Award in Vietnam.

1. Drafting the Petition for cancellation of the Arbitral Award

1.1. Some issues to note

(i) Grounds for cancellation of the Arbitral Award

Before requesting the competent Court to cancel the Arbitration Award, one of the disputing parties (“Requesting Party“) must consider whether the Arbitration Award falls into one of the following cases:

– There is no arbitration agreement or the arbitration agreement is invalid;

– The arbitration council’s composition or procedures of arbitral proceedings is/are incompliant with the parties’ agreement or this Law:

– The dispute falls beyond the arbitration council’s jurisdiction: when an Arbitral Award contains the details falling beyond the arbitration council’s jurisdiction, such details shall be canceled:

– The evidence provided by the parties on which the arbitration council bases to issue the award is counterfeit: an arbitrator receives money, assets, or other material benefits from one disputing party, thus affecting the objectivity and impartiality of the award;

– The award contravenes the fundamental principles of Vietnamese law.

When finding out one of the above grounds, the requesting party can draft and submit a Petition for cancellation of the Arbitral Award to the competent Court.

(ii) The time limit for requesting cancellation of the Arbitration Award

The Petition for cancellation of the Arbitral Award must be submitted to the competent Court within 30 days after the requesting party receives the Arbitral Award. When the Petition is submitted beyond the specified time limit due to force majeure circumstances, the period in which such circumstances exist will not be included in the time limit for requesting cancellation of the Arbitral Award.

(iii) The competent Court

Under regulations of the law, the Court having the competent to consider canceling the Arbitral Award is the provincial People’s Court at which the Arbitral Tribunal has declared the Arbitral Award. Therefore, the requesting party needs to accurately determine the competent Court for settlement to submit the Petition for cancellation of the Arbitral Award.

1.2. The form and contents of the Petition for cancellation of the Arbitral Award

The form and contents of the Petition for cancellation of the Arbitral Award must comply with applicable regulations of the law. Accordingly, the requesting party can draft the Petition for cancellation of the Arbitral Award that meets the form and contents under the law and contains the following main contents:

– Date of making;

– Name and address of the requesting party

– Request and grounds for cancellation of the Arbitral Award.

At the same time, the requesting party must send the Petition for cancellation of the Arbitral Award enclosed with the original or certified copy of the Arbitral Award and the arbitration agreement and the valid certified translation of foreign language documents into Vietnamese.

2. Submitting the Petition for cancellation of the Arbitral Award

After preparing the Petition Dossier (including the Petition for cancellation of the Arbitral Award and relevant documents and evidence), the requesting party can submit the Petition Dossier to the competent Court with 03 methods as follows: (i) Directly submit to the Court, (ii) Submit to the Court by post, or (iii) Send via the Court’s electronic portal (if any).

3. Accepting the Petition for cancellation of the Arbitral Award

After receiving and considering the Petition for cancellation of the Arbitral Award, the competent Court will proceed to accept it and immediately notify the Arbitration Center or Arbitrators of the Ad-hoc Arbitral Tribunal and the disputing parties of the acceptance.

Within 7 working days after accepting the Petition for cancellation of the Arbitral Award, the Court President will designate an Examination Council for settlement of the case.

4. Participating in the meeting for examination of the Petition for cancellation of the Arbitral Award.

Within 30 days after being designated, the Examination Council will hold a meeting to examine the Petition for cancellation of the Arbitral Award.

The meeting will be conducted on time, at the location, and in the presence of the parties. In case the requesting party withdraws the Petition or has been properly summoned but is absent without a plausible reason or leaves the meeting without the Examination Council’s consent, the Examination Council will issue the decision to terminate the examination of the Petition for cancellation of the Arbitral Award.

5. Results of the settlement of the Petition for cancellation of the Arbitral Award.

After examining the contents of the Petition, the Examination Council has the right to issue the decision to cancel or not cancel the Arbitral Award. Within 05 working days, from the decision is issued, the Court will send the decision to the parties and Arbitration Centers or Arbitrators of the Ad-hoc Arbitral Tribunal.

The Court’s decision is final and effective for enforcement. Therefore, in case the Examination Council issues a decision to cancel the Arbitral Award, the parties can agree to bring their dispute to Arbitration or Courts. On the contrary, if the Court does not cancel the Arbitral Award, such award shall be enforced.

Above is our legal share of procedures for requesting the cancellation of an arbitral award in Vietnam. We hope that this article can help you better understand and take notes about these procedures to protect your legitimate rights and interests when participating in the dispute settlement by Commercial Arbitration.

Best regards.

TNTP & Associates International Law Firm