By Dr. Nguyet Le

Background

Five years after ratifying the New York Convention 1958 (the NYC), Vietnam enacted its first Commercial Arbitration Law on June 17, 2010 (Law 54). Law 54 differentiates between the annulment review of domestic arbitral awards’ proceedings and the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. It remains controversial whether this bifurcation is necessary. With regard to domestic awards, Law 54 defines domestic arbitral awards as decisions issued by arbitration tribunals in the arbitral process to rule on the entire contents of a dispute and terminate the arbitration proceedings (Article 3). The annulment review of the domestic awards is a non-appealable proceeding set forth in Resolution 01/2014 to implement Law 54. Meanwhile, foreign arbitral awards are arbitral decisions rendered by a foreign arbitral tribunal, which is established under the arbitration law of foreign countries, regardless of whether the awards are rendered within or outside the territory of Vietnam (Law 54, Art. 3 paras. 11, 12). Foreign arbitral awards are final awards (Law 54 Art. 3 para. 11). The awards terminate the arbitration proceedings (Art. 424 para. 2 Civil Procedure Code 2015). The review decision on the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards is appealable in accordance with the Civil Procedure Code 2005, 2015, and its revision 2025. Competent courts in Vietnam do not recognize and enforce injunctive measures or provisional measures issued by foreign arbitral tribunals.

^{“Vietnam Flag” by Cheryl & Rich is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.}

Reflection on Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards

i. Recognition and Enforcement Available for Finally Legal Binding Foreign Arbitral Awards

Foreign arbitral awards are legally binding awards prior to the recognition and enforcement proceedings (Art. 424, para. 2, Art. 451 para. 1 Civil Procedure Code 2015). Procedurally, a creditor of a foreign arbitral award may apply for recognition and enforcement through either the Ministry of Justice or the competent courts at provincial levels (Art. 451 para. 1 Civil Procedure Code 2015, 2025). The courts have no authority to set aside foreign arbitral awards (Art 5.5 Resolution 01/2014), but creditors must demonstrate that the award is legally binding, indicating that it has not been annulled or suspended by a competent authority in the seat of arbitration or under the applicable law. (Art. 459 para. 1g Civil Procedure Code 2015). For example, in Court Decision No. 01/2017/QDKDTM-ST, the People’s Court of Hai Phong City required the creditor to provide evidence of the legal capacity of the parties to the arbitration agreement, proof of proper service by the China Arbitration Center, and documentation establishing the binding nature of the award. With respect to proof of an award’s legally binding nature, Vietnamese courts typically require an authenticated copy of the foreign arbitral award certified by a Vietnamese diplomatic authority abroad, as well as a notarized Vietnamese translation where the award is issued in a foreign language. This approach was reaffirmed in Court Decision No. 215/2020/QDKDTM-ST, in which the People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City recognized and enforced a Singaporean arbitral award after reviewing its authenticated and notarized versions.

In Court Decision No.07/2021/QDST-KDTM, the People’s Court of Ha Noi City received the application to recognize and enforce the Korean arbitral award dated October 17, 2016, from the Korean creditor, Company B, established and operating in Ha Noi City, Vietnam. On June 22, 2017, the award’s debtor, Company Kongyang, established and operated in Korea, submitted a Korean court’s case docket on the annulment proceedings to the Ha Noi court. The Ha Noi Court reasoned that, on April 28, 2017, when the court officially accepted the case, the Korean award had not yet been legally binding as the Company B creditor failed to present the original or authenticated copy of the Korean award as required by Art. 453 para. 1.a Civil Procedure Code 2015. Thus, the Ha Noi court refused to proceed with the recognition and enforcement of the Korean arbitral award.

ii. Commerciality of the Disputes for Recognition and Enforcement

Law 54 establishes the jurisdiction of arbitral tribunals to disputes between parties arising out of their commercial activities, disputes between parties in which at least one party engages in commercial activities, and disputes between parties that are legally required to be resolved by arbitration. (Art. 2). In Court Decision 09/2023 dated January 17, 2023, the People’s High Court at Ha Noi of Vietnam decided not to recognize and enforce an arbitral award of the Singaporean International Arbitration Center on the dispute relating to the share acquisition contract to real estate project. Among others, the establishment of an arbitral tribunal to real estate-related disputes is within the exclusive jurisdiction of the People’s Court of Vietnam under Article 470 Civil Procedure Code 2015. The non-recognition was appealed to the High Court, and the High Court still affirmed it in accordance with Article 5 NYC 1958.

iii. Non-Recognition and Non-Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards are Contrary to Fundamental Principles of Vietnamese Laws

In Resolution 01/2014, the Supreme Court of Vietnam vaguely defines the content of fundamental principles, which are basic principles of conduct that have overarching effect on the development and implementation of Vietnamese law (Art. 14, para. đ). Notably, the inconsistency of fundamental principles of Vietnamese laws is applicable for both the annulment of domestic arbitral awards and the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. In Court Decision No. 215/2020/QDKDTM-ST, the People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City reasoned that fundamental principles of Vietnamese laws are those that determine whether disputing parties had voluntarily negotiated and agreed on the contractual obligations.

“Vietnam’s consolidation of provinces and elimination of the district level of governance are expected to limit appeals, thereby expediting appellate court decisions on recognition and enforcement.”

^{Dr. Nguyet Le}

Reforms to Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards

Law 54 has not been revised since 2010. The law embarks on the development of arbitration in Vietnam. As of 2025, the number of arbitration centers has grown from seven established before 2010 to forty-nine in 2025. Vietnam reiterates that the annulment decision is final. Meanwhile, Vietnam enables recognition decisions to be appealable. Notably, the number of annulments of domestic arbitral awards and non-recognition and non-enforcement of foreign arbitral awards remains critically high. On September 25, 2020, the Ministry of Justice of Vietnam announced that there were thirty court decisions out of eighty-two decisions in which the competent courts refused to recognize and enforce foreign arbitral awards.

Since December 2025, Vietnam has introduced tremendous reforms. Vietnam reduced the number of its provinces and cities by half, from sixty-three to thirty-four, which decreases the number of competent provincial courts for the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. Moreover, Vietnam replaced the three-tier local governance structure: communes, districts, and provinces, with a two-tier local governance system, which omits district levels. Vietnam’s consolidation of provinces and elimination of the district level of governance are expected to limit appeals, thereby expediting appellate court decisions on recognition and enforcement. The measures limit the broad discretion of Vietnamese courts in interpreting the commerciality of disputes, notably real estate-related disputes, in foreign arbitral awards and general principles of Vietnamese laws.