PROCESS OF FILING A LAWSUIT AGAINST DEBTORS IN COURT
The debt collection process always has difficulties, especially with long-standing debts. Debt collection in these cases becomes more complicated because the debtor is unable to repay the debt or deliberately avoids debt repayment obligations. When amicable debt recovery measures are no longer effective, creditors can consider suing the debtor at a competent Court. In this article, TNTP will analyze the process of filing a lawsuit against the debtor in Court.
1. Conditions for initiating a lawsuit against the debtor in Court
To initiate a lawsuit against the debtor in Court, organizations and individuals who are creditors should pay attention to the following essential conditions:
Firstly, the grounds for the lawsuit: Collecting and identifying these grounds is to prove that the debt exists and the debtor has not fulfilled their payment obligations. This is also the litigant’s obligation to prove and provide evidence when filing a lawsuit in Court. These evidence bases can be contracts, loan papers, debt confirmation minutes, invoices, documents, exchanged messages/emails, …
Secondly, the statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit: According to the provisions of Article 429 of the 2015 Civil Code, the statute of limitations for initiating lawsuits for contract disputes is 03 years from the date the person with the right to request knows or should know that his or her legitimate rights and interests are being violated. violations and the provisions of Article 319 of the 2005 Commercial Law, the statute of limitations for initiating a lawsuit on a commercial dispute is 2 years from the time legitimate rights and interests are violated. When the statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit has ended, the creditor will lose the right to sue in court to recover the debt. Therefore, creditors need to pay attention to the statute of limitations for filing lawsuits according to the provisions of the law.
Thirdly, the Court’s decision: Vietnamese law has a division of jurisdiction between local and territorial courts. Therefore, when suing the debtor, the creditor needs to research the relevant legal provisions to determine the correct jurisdiction of the Court. In an appropriate environment and the disputed property is in Vietnam, the litigant can file a lawsuit at the district People’s Court where the defendant resides or works or the district People’s Court where the disputed real estate is located. receive. In the appropriate environment or the disputed property is abroad, or a judicial mandate is needed abroad, the litigant must file a petition at the Provincial People’s Court where the applicant resides or works.
2. Process of filing a lawsuit against the debtor in Court
The process of filing a lawsuit in Court begins with the preparation of a lawsuit file. Accordingly, businesses and individuals who are creditors need to prepare lawsuit documents including the following necessary documents:
– Petition;
– Legal documents and evidence to prove the lawsuit request: contracts, loan papers, debt confirmation minutes, invoices, documents, exchanged messages/emails, etc.;
– State agency confirmation of the defendant’s residential and working address;
– A certified copy of the plaintiff’s citizen identification card for an individual plaintiff or a copy of the business registration certificate, establishment decision or operating license for a business plaintiff…
After fully preparing the lawsuit documents, the plaintiff proceeds to file a lawsuit at the competent Court. After receiving the lawsuit file, the Court will consider accepting the case.
In case the case meets the conditions to be accepted, the Court will send a notice to the plaintiff about the advance payment of court fees. Accordingly, within 07 days from the date of receiving the notice of payment of the Court fee advance. After the plaintiff has paid the court fee advance and submitted to the Court the receipt of the court fee advance, the Court will proceed with the case.
Within a period of 02 to 03 months, the Court will conduct meetings to access and disclose evidence and conciliate between litigants. In case the case cannot be resolved through conciliation procedures, the Judge will issue a decision to bring the case to trial.
In case the case does not meet the conditions for acceptance according to the provisions of law and falls under the cases of returning the lawsuit petition in Article 192.1 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code, the Judge will return the lawsuit petition to the plaintiff. However, the plaintiff can absolutely file a lawsuit again with the competent Court in case the conditions specified in Article 192.3 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code are met. Therefore, the plaintiff needs to be advised to fully prepare lawsuit documents for the Court to consider and accept to resolve the case and recover the debt.
Above are our legal shares about the “Process of filing a lawsuit against the debtor in Court”. Hopefully, through this article, TNTP can help readers better understand the conditions and working process at Court when suing the debtor.
Sincerely.
TNTP & Associates International Law Firm
+84903503285
