Vietnam regulations on civil relations involving foreign elements

Vietnam law has regulations on civil relations involving foreign elements. Let’s find out this issue with Lawyer X through the following situation: “Dear Lawyer! I want to ask when shall Vietnam law be applied to civil relations involving foreign elements? How can I determine law applying to civil relations involving foreign elements? Thanks for answering me!”

Legal grounds

• 2015 Vietnam Civil Code

Scope of applied law to civil relations involving foreign elements.

– This Part provides for applied law to civil relations involving foreign elements.

If any regulation of law providing for applied law to civil relations involving foreign elements complies with Article 664 through Article 671 of Vietnam Civil Code, it shall prevail; if it does not comply with those Articles, Part Five of Vietnam Civil Code shall prevail.

– Civil relation involving a foreign element means any of the following civil relations:

+ There is at least one of the participating parties is a foreign natural person or juridical person;

+ The participating parties are Vietnamese natural persons or juridical persons but the basis for the establishment, modification or termination of such relation arose in a foreign country;

+ The participating parties are Vietnamese natural persons or juridical persons but the subject matter of such civil relation is located in a foreign country.

Determination of law applying to civil relations involving foreign elements

– The international agreements to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a signatory or Vietnamese law shall apply to civil relations involving foreign elements.

– In case the international agreements to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a signatory or a Vietnamese law stipulates that contracting parties have the right to select applied law, the law applied to civil relations involving foreign elements shall be determined according to the selection of the contracting parties.

– If it fails to determine the applied law as prescribed in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of Article 664, the applied law is the law of the country that closely associates with the civil relations involving foreign elements.

Application of international treaty in terms of civil relations involving foreign elements

– In case an international treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a signatory contains regulations on rights and obligations of contracting participants in the civil relations involving foreign elements, such international treaty shall prevail.

– In case an international treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a signatory contains provisions different from those in Vietnam Civil Code and other laws in terms of applied law on civil relations involving foreign elements, such international treaty shall prevail.

Application of international customary practices

Contracting parties may select international customary practices in the case prescribed in Clause 2 Article 664 of Vietnam Civil Code. If the application of such international customary practices is contrary to the basic principles of the laws of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Vietnamese laws shall prevail.

Application of foreign laws

Where foreign law applies to a civil relation with different interpretations, the application must follow the interpretation of the competent authority in that country.

Scope of the law to be referred to

– The law to be referred to include regulations on determination of applied law and regulations on rights and obligations of participants in civil relations, other than the case prescribed in Clause 4 of Article 66-

– Where the Vietnamese law is referred to, regulations of Vietnamese law on rights and obligations of participants of a civil relation shall apply.

– Where law of a third country is referred to, regulations of that law on rights and obligations of participants of a civil relation shall apply.

– With respect to regulations on Clause 2 Article 664 of Vietnam Civil Code, the law selected by the contracting parties shall include rights and obligations of participants of the civil relation, and not include regulations on applied law.

Application of law of countries having multiple legal systems

If the law of a country having multiple legal systems is referred to, the applied law shall be determined according to the rules prescribed by such country’s law.

Non-application of foreign laws

– The foreign law, notwithstanding being referred to, shall not apply in any of the following cases:

+ The consequences of its application are not inconsistent with the fundamental principles of the law of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

+ The contents of foreign law are not identifiable regardless of the adoption of necessary measures prescribed by procedural law.

– In case the foreign law is not applied as prescribed in Clause 1 of Article 670, Vietnamese law shall apply.

Prescriptive periods

Prescriptive periods for civil relations involving foreign elements shall be determined according to the law applying to such civil relations.

The law applied to natural persons and juridical persons

Bases for choice of law applicable to stateless persons and to foreigners with multiple foreign nationalities

– Where the law referred to is the law of a country of which a foreigner is a citizen but he/she is a stateless person, the applied law shall be the law of the country of residence of such person at the time when the civil relations involving foreign elements were established. If that person has multiple residences or his residence is unidentifiable at the time of establishing the civil relation involving foreign elements, the applied law shall be the law of the country with which such person closely associates.

– Where the law referred to is the law of a country of which a foreigner is a citizen but he/she has multiple foreign nationalities, the applied law shall be the law of which he/she holds nationality and where he/she resided at the time when the civil relations involving foreign elements were established. If that person has multiple residences or his residence is unidentifiable or his/her residence is different from the country of which he/she holds nationality at the time when the civil relations involving foreign elements were established, the applied law shall be the law of the country with which such person closely associates.

Where the law referred to is the law of a country of which a foreigner is a citizen but he/she has multiple foreign nationalities, including Vietnamese nationality, the applied law shall be Vietnamese law.

Legal personality of natural persons

– Legal personality of a natural person shall be determined according to the law of the country of which he/she holds nationality.

– A foreigner in Vietnam shall have legal personality in the same manner as a Vietnamese citizen, unless otherwise provided by the law of Vietnam.

Legal capacity of natural persons

– Legal capacity of a natural person shall be determined according to the law of the country of which he/she holds nationality, other than the case prescribed in Clause 2 of Article 674

– Where a foreigner establishes or performs civil transactions in Vietnam, his/her legal capacity shall be determined in accordance with the law of Vietnam.

– The determination of a legally incapacitated person, a person with limited cognition or behavior control or a person with limited legal capacity in Vietnam shall be in accordance with the law of Vietnam.

Determination of persons disappeared or died

– A determination that a person has disappeared or died must comply with the law of the country of which such person held nationality at the point of time prior to the last information about such disappearance or death, except for the case prescribed in Clause 2 of Article 675

– The determination of a disappeared or dead person in Vietnam shall be in accordance with the law of Vietnam.

Juridical persons

– The nationality of a juridical person shall be determined according to the law of the country in which such juridical person was established.

– Legal personality, name, legal representatives, organization, restructuring, dissolution of a juridical person; relations between a juridical person and its members; responsibilities of a juridical person and its members pertaining to its obligations shall be determined in accordance with the law of the country of which such juridical person holds nationality, other than the case prescribed in Clause 3 of Article 676

– Where a foreign juridical person establishes or performs civil transactions in Vietnam, its legal personality shall be determined in accordance with the law of Vietnam.

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