THE PROCESS OF DRAFTING AND SUBMITTING A PETITION FOR THE CIVIL MATTER SETTLEMENT TO THE FIRST-INSTANCE COURT
Civil matters mean a situation where agencies, organizations, or individuals have no disputes but request Courts to recognize or not to recognize a legal event which serves as a basis for the rise of the civil, marriage and family, business, commercial, or labor rights and obligations of their own or of other agencies, organizations or individuals; or request Courts to recognize their civil, marriage and family, business, commercial or labor rights. Similar to initiating a civil lawsuit, the request for civil matter settlement at the Court also initiates from the time the petitioner (including individuals, lawful representatives of organizations) carries out the procedure for petition submission to settle a civil matter. Although the procedures of the civil matter settlement are simpler than those of the civil lawsuit settlement, in reality, there are still many difficulties the petitioner encounters in the preparation and submission of the petition, that lead to waste the petitioner’s time and effort and affect his/her interests. Therefore, we would like to share this legal article to guide you on the process of drafting and submitting a Petition for the civil matter settlement to the Court.
1. Drafting the Petition for the civil matter settlement
1.1. The form and contents of the Petition for the civil matter settlement
The form and contents of the Petition for the civil matter settlement must comply with the regulations of the applicable law. Accordingly, the petitioner can draft a Petition for the civil matter settlement that meets the form and contents specified in the law, or use Form No. 01-VDS (Issued attached with Resolution No. 04/2018/NQ-HDTP dated 09 August 2018 of the Council of Judges of the Supreme People’s Court).
Please refer to Appeal Petition Form No. 01-VDS as follows:
1.2. Some issues to note in the process of drafting the Petition for the civil matter settlement:
(i) To clearly and accurately determine the competent Court in the civil matter settlement under the law;
(ii) For the Court can shortly get a preliminary understanding of the matter and determine the grounds for consideration and settlement, the petitioner should summarize the matter and state the type of the civil matter in the Petition for the civil matter settlement;
(iii) In case the petitioner authorizes another person to draft the Petition for the civil matter settlement, the Petition must clearly state the full name of the authorized person, the petitioner, and the time for entering into the Power of Attorney. In case more than one person make the Petition for the civil matter settlement, the information of each person must be entirely stated and numbered in the corresponding order;
(iv) The petitioner must submit documents and evidence and the Power of Attorney (if any) attached with the Petition for the civil matter settlement to prove that his/her request is grounded and lawful.
2. The submission of the Petition for the civil matter settlement
2.1. Methods of the submission
After preparing the Petition Dossier for the civil matter settlement (including the Petition for the civil matter settlement and attached documents and evidence), the petitioner can submit the Petition Dossier to the competent Court by 03 following methods: (i) Direct submission at the Court, (ii) Sending to the Court by post, or (iii) Sending through e-portal of the Court (if any).
2.2. Results of the submission
After receiving the Petition for the civil matter settlement, the Court is responsible for granting a written certification of receipt of the Petition.
Depending on each case, the Court will issue one of the following decisions: (i) To request the petitioner to amend or supplement the Petition for the civil matter settlement within 07 days from the day on which the request is received; (ii) To carry out the procedures for acceptance of the civil matter; or (iii) To return the petition to the petitioner in case the petitioner is not entitled to submit the petition, or does not have sufficient civil procedure act capacity, or fails to amend, supplement the petition within the time limit, or fails to pay the charge for the civil matter settlement within the time limit, or the civil matter has been settled by the Court/a competent agency or does not fall within the competence of the Court.
When the Petition for the civil matter settlement and its attached materials and evidence are satisfactory, the Judge will notify the petitioner about the payment of a charge for the civil matter settlement within 05 working days from the day on which the notice is received, unless such petitioner falls into cases of being exempt from or having not to pay. If the petitioner is exempted from or does not have to pay the charge, the Court will accept the civil matter from the day on which it receives the petition. Therefore, the petitioner should note to pay the charge and submit the receipt of such payment under the above regulations to ensure that the Petition for the civil matter settlement is accepted.
Above are our legal shares on the process of drafting and submitting a Petition for the civil matter settlement to the Court. We hope that the article can help you better understand this process and effectively draft and submit the Petition when participating in the civil matter settlement at Court to protect your legitimate rights and interests.
Best regards.
TNTP & Associates International Law Firm
