Cross-Border Litigation Strategy for Foreign Companies in Vietnam

When a foreign company has a dispute with a Vietnamese partner, the decisive choices are made long before anyone files a claim: which forum the contract points to, where the counterparty's assets are, and whether a judgment or award from that forum can actually be enforced in Vietnam. This article sets out how a cross-border dispute involving Vietnam is usually planned, from the dispute clause to collecting the money.

Start from the end: where will you enforce?

The first question is not "where can we sue?" but "where are the assets?". If the Vietnamese counterparty has nothing outside Vietnam, whatever decision you obtain must eventually be enforced by Vietnamese authorities. That changes the calculation considerably:

• Foreign arbitral awards are enforceable in Vietnam under the 1958 New York Convention, to which Vietnam has been a party since 1995. Recognition is a court procedure with closed refusal grounds, and the court does not retry the dispute.
• Foreign court judgments are recognised only where Vietnam has a treaty with the country concerned (mostly mutual legal assistance agreements with a limited number of countries) or on the basis of reciprocity. For judgments from many common-law jurisdictions, recognition in Vietnam is uncertain.
• Vietnamese court judgments and Vietnamese arbitral awards are enforced directly through the civil judgment enforcement system.

This is why most foreign investors choose arbitration — offshore (SIAC, HKIAC, ICC) or at the Vietnam International Arbitration Centre (VIAC) — rather than a foreign court. Vietnamese law allows parties to a dispute with a foreign element to choose foreign arbitration, and VIAC hears proceedings in English when the parties so agree.

The Vietnamese courts after the 2025 reform

If the dispute ends up in a Vietnamese court — because there is no arbitration clause, because the clause is defective, or because the claim concerns matters that cannot be arbitrated — the structure changed on 1 July 2025. Under Law No. 81/2025/QH15, the court system has three tiers: the Supreme People's Court, 34 provincial People's Courts and 355 regional People's Courts. The former high courts and district courts were abolished. Regional courts now hear almost all civil, commercial, labour and administrative cases at first instance, including cases with a foreign party; provincial courts hear appeals from them; the Supreme People's Court handles cassation and reopening of decisions of the provincial courts. Specialised bankruptcy and intellectual property courts sit in certain regional courts in Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City.

Applications to set aside Vietnamese arbitral awards go to the Economic Courts of the People's Courts of Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City. Applications to recognise foreign judgments and awards are heard by the regional court where the debtor is located or has assets.

Time limits that catch foreign claimants

Limitation periods in Vietnam are shorter than many foreign companies expect. For commercial disputes under the Commercial Law 2005, the limitation period for initiating a claim is generally two years from the date the claimant's rights and interests are infringed. Contract claims under the Civil Code are generally subject to three years. Expiry is not raised automatically by the court, but if the respondent raises it before the first-instance judgment, the claim fails. Negotiations do not stop the clock unless the respondent acknowledges the debt in a way the law recognises, so record any acknowledgment in writing.

Evidence and documents from abroad

Vietnamese procedure is document-driven. Witness evidence carries less weight than in common-law systems and there is no general disclosure; each party must produce the evidence it relies on, and the court may assist in collecting specific documents. Foreign-language documents must be translated into Vietnamese, and the translations notarised or certified.

Documents issued abroad must be authenticated. Since 11 September 2026 the Apostille Convention has applied to Vietnam: a public document from a member state needs only an apostille from the issuing country instead of consular legalisation. Documents from Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic, which objected to Vietnam's accession, and documents outside the Convention (private documents that have not been notarised, documents issued by diplomatic or consular agents, documents dealing directly with commercial or customs operations) still require consular legalisation unless a treaty exempts them. Build the authentication step into the timetable: a missing apostille can cost a hearing date.

Serving a foreign party

When proceedings in Vietnam involve a respondent abroad, or proceedings abroad involve a Vietnamese respondent, service goes through formal channels. Vietnam has been a party to the 1965 Hague Service Convention since 2016 and has mutual legal assistance treaties with a number of countries; the Ministry of Justice is the central authority. Service through these channels takes months, which is one of the main reasons court proceedings with a foreign element are slow. Arbitration avoids most of this because the tribunal serves documents at the addresses agreed in the contract — another reason to keep notice addresses in the contract up to date.

Interim measures

Vietnamese courts may grant interim measures — freezing bank accounts, prohibiting the transfer of assets, attaching property — at the request of a party to court proceedings, and in support of arbitration under the Law on Commercial Arbitration 2010. The applicant generally has to provide security, in an amount set by the court, against the loss the measure may cause. Courts are cautious with sweeping measures; a targeted request identifying a specific account or asset, with evidence that the respondent is moving assets, is more likely to succeed.

A practical strategy, step by step

1. At contract stage: choose arbitration with a seat in a New York Convention state, name the institution, the language and the number of arbitrators, and make sure the person signing for the Vietnamese party has authority (legal representative or a valid power of attorney).
2. When the dispute starts: preserve evidence, send a formal notice, calculate the limitation period, and check where the counterparty's assets are through enterprise registration and land records.
3. During proceedings: serve every notice properly and keep proof of delivery — improper notice is the most frequent ground used to resist enforcement in Vietnam.
4. After the award: file for recognition well within the three-year limit (Article 451 of the Civil Procedure Code), with apostilled documents and certified translations.
5. Enforcement: once recognised, request enforcement from the civil judgment enforcement agency under the Law on Civil Judgment Enforcement No. 106/2025/QH15 (in force from 1 July 2026); the time limit for requesting enforcement is five years.

Common mistakes

Pathological dispute clauses ("arbitration in Singapore under Vietnamese court rules"), suing in a foreign court when all assets are in Vietnam, letting the two-year commercial limitation period run during negotiations, and relying on a contract that breaches Vietnamese mandatory rules (for example pricing in foreign currency between Vietnamese residents) — the last one gives the respondent a public policy argument at the enforcement stage. Each of these is avoidable with early advice from counsel who handles both the arbitration and the Vietnamese enforcement end.

Quick Q&A

Should a foreign company choose a foreign court or arbitration for a contract with a Vietnamese party?

Usually arbitration. Foreign arbitral awards are enforceable in Vietnam under the New York Convention, while foreign court judgments are recognised only under a treaty or on the basis of reciprocity, which is uncertain for many countries.

Which Vietnamese court hears a commercial case with a foreign party?

Since 1 July 2025, the regional People's Court with territorial jurisdiction hears the case at first instance, with appeals to the provincial People's Court (Law No. 81/2025/QH15 and the 2025 amendments to the Civil Procedure Code).

How long is the limitation period for commercial claims in Vietnam?

Generally two years from the date the claimant's rights were infringed under the Commercial Law 2005. It is applied only if the respondent raises it before the first-instance judgment.

Do foreign documents still need consular legalisation?

Since 11 September 2026, public documents from Apostille Convention member states only need an apostille, except those from Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic. Certified Vietnamese translations are still required.