Arbitration & Disputes

How disputes are resolved in Vietnam

Business disputes in Vietnam are resolved by negotiation, mediation, arbitration or the courts. Article 13 of Law No. 143/2025/QH15 on Investment states the sequence for investment disputes, negotiation and mediation first and then arbitration or the courts, and the dispute clause in the contract decides which of the last two applies, because a valid arbitration agreement takes the dispute out of the courts under Law No. 54/2010/QH12 on Commercial Arbitration. The forum is therefore chosen when the contract is signed. The most important rule for a foreign investor is the line drawn by Article 13(3): where at least one party is a foreign investor or a company more than 50% foreign-owned, disputes between investors may go to foreign or international arbitration; otherwise they stay in Vietnam. How to choose between the routes, the limits on choosing foreign governing law, the role of the seat and the points every dispute clause must settle are explained in Dispute resolution landscape and choice of forum.

Enforceability decides most choices. A Vietnamese arbitral award is enforced directly once the 30-day window for annulment has passed; a foreign arbitral award is enforceable under the New York Convention after recognition by a Vietnamese court; a foreign court judgment is recognised only under a judicial assistance treaty or on reciprocity, and Vietnam has no such treaty with the United Kingdom, the United States or Singapore. That is why foreign investors contracting with Vietnamese counterparties choose arbitration, either at VIAC or offshore, and rarely choose foreign courts.

Arbitration at home and abroad

Arbitration seated in Vietnam is governed by the Law on Commercial Arbitration, guided by Resolution No. 01/2014/NQ-HDTP of the Supreme People's Court. An arbitration agreement must be in writing and is void in the six cases in Article 18, of which the signatory's lack of authority is the one most often raised. The Vietnam International Arbitration Centre (VIAC) is the leading institution, and its new Rules apply to arbitrations commenced from 1 July 2026, adding joinder, consolidation, claims under multiple contracts, tribunal-appointed experts, third-party funding disclosure and a broader expedited procedure. Vietnamese law has no emergency arbitrator, so urgent relief before a tribunal exists comes from the court. A party may apply to annul a Vietnamese award within 30 days of receipt on exhaustive grounds; since 1 July 2025 these applications go to the Economic Courts of the People's Courts of Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City, whose decision is final. See Commercial arbitration and VIAC.

Offshore arbitration at SIAC, HKIAC or the ICC gives neutrality and enforceability in more than 170 Convention states, at the cost of a recognition proceeding in Vietnam. The application is filed within three years of the award taking effect, heard since July 2025 by a regional court with appeal to the provincial court, and recognition may be refused on Convention-style grounds, including conflict with the fundamental principles of Vietnamese law, which courts have at times read broadly. Keeping proof of the Vietnamese signatory's authority and of proper notice of the arbitration are the cheapest protections. See Foreign arbitration and enforcement of awards.

The courts and mediation

The courts were reorganised on 1 July 2025 by Law No. 81/2025/QH15 into the Supreme People's Court, 34 provincial courts and 355 regional courts. Regional courts hear commercial disputes at first instance, including those with a foreign element, with appeal to the provincial court and cassation on protest above it. The Civil Procedure Code gives the court two months to prepare a commercial case, extendable by one month, but contested cases commonly take a year or more at first instance. Interim measures, such as freezing accounts and attaching assets, are available within 48 hours where requested with the petition, against security. Court fees follow the sliding scale in Resolution No. 326/2016/UBTVQH14, and only Vietnamese lawyers may appear. See Vietnamese courts and litigation.

Most disputes settle. Commercial mediation under Decree No. 22/2017/ND-CP, as amended by Decree No. 112/2025/ND-CP, is offered by registered mediators and centres including the Vietnam Mediation Centre at VIAC; a successful out-of-court mediation can be recognised by a court within six months and then enforced like a judgment, and courts offer confidential pre-action mediation under Law No. 58/2020/QH14. Vietnam is not a party to the Singapore Convention on Mediation, so international settlements need another route to enforcement. Vietnamese law has no general without-prejudice privilege, which makes a written confidentiality agreement essential. See Mediation and negotiation.

Turning a decision into money

Law No. 106/2025/QH15 on Civil Judgment Enforcement replaced the 2008 law on 1 July 2026. Enforcement is carried out by the 34 provincial civil judgment enforcement agencies and their regional divisions, or, under the new law, by licensed private enforcement offices engaged under a service contract. The creditor must request enforcement within five years, the debtor has ten days to comply voluntarily, and enforcement officers can require banks, registries and tax authorities to disclose assets. Recognition of foreign court judgments, and the priority of registered security under the Civil Code, Decree No. 21/2021/ND-CP and Decree No. 99/2022/ND-CP, are explained in Enforcing judgments and civil judgment enforcement. In practice, security and a bank guarantee taken at the outset matter more than the choice of forum.

Disputes with the State and the new forums

A foreign investor's dispute with a Vietnamese authority goes to Vietnamese arbitration or courts unless its contract with the State body or a treaty provides otherwise. Vietnam has 45 bilateral investment treaties in force, and the CPTPP and the ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement provide investor-State arbitration; Vietnam is not an ICSID member, so claims proceed under UNCITRAL or other permitted rules. The CPTPP requires consultations, a six-month wait and 90 days' notice, and for claims against Vietnam a prior local lawsuit on the same measure bars arbitration. The Government's response is coordinated under Decision No. 14/2020/QD-TTg, and UNCTAD records 13 known cases against Vietnam. The procedure, PPP and petroleum contracts and enforcement against the State are in Investor-State disputes and treaty claims, building on Investment guarantees and treaties.

Law No. 150/2025/QH15 created a specialised court for the Vietnam International Financial Centre from 1 January 2026, sitting in Ho Chi Minh City, working in English, open to foreign judges and lawyers, with final appeals; its procedural rules were planned for completion by the end of 2026. Decree No. 328/2025/ND-CP provides for the centre's international arbitration centre. Labour, administrative, tax, intellectual property and competition disputes each have their own forum. See The VIFC court and specialised forums.

How to use this chapter

Read the first section before signing any significant contract, and the arbitration and foreign-award sections before choosing between VIAC and an offshore institution. Contract law itself, including the 8% penalty cap, the two-year limitation period and the rules on currency and language, is in Commercial contracts in Vietnam, and security for loans in Chapter 6. Each section ends with the related FAQs, the official sources and a question you can put to Lawbot about your own facts. Several instruments described here, including the enforcement law's implementing decrees, the VIFC court's procedural rules and the VIAC expedited threshold, were still being issued or settled in 2026; check the current position before you rely on them. When a dispute arises, instruct a Vietnamese lawyer early.