THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM

RESOLVES:

1. The Civil Procedure Code was passed on June 15, 2004 by the XI^th National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, at its 5^th session, and takes effect as from January 1, 2005.

The November 29, 1989 Ordinance on Procedures for Settlement of Civil Cases, the April 17, 1993 Ordinance on Recognition and Enforcement in Vietnam of Civil Judgments and Decisions of Foreign Courts, the March 16, 1994 Ordinance on Procedures for Settlement of Economic Cases, the September 14, 1995 Ordinance on Recognition and Enforcement in Vietnam of Awards of Foreign Arbitrators and the provisions on procedures for settlement of labor cases of the April 11, 1996 Ordinance on Procedures for Settlement of Labor Disputes shall cease to be effective as from the date this Code takes effect, except for cases prescribed at Points 3 and 4 of this Resolution.

2. The Government, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuracy shall, within the scope of their respective functions and tasks, scrutinize by themselves or coordinate with the concerned agencies in organizing the scrutiny of, the current law provisions on civil procedures in order to cancel, amend or supplement them or promulgate new documents or propose the National Assembly or the National Assembly Standing Committee to cancel, amend or supplement them or to promulgate new documents to suit the provisions of the Civil Procedure Code and ensure the effect of this Code as from January 1, 2005.

3. As from the date the Civil Procedure Code takes effect, the people's courts of rural districts, urban districts, provincial capitals, provincial towns, which are fully qualified for the enforcement, shall be delegated power to settle civil cases prescribed in Article 33 of this Code; the people's courts of rural districts, urban districts, provincial capitals, provincial towns, which are not yet qualified, shall continue to exercise the jurisdiction for first-instance trials prescribed in Clause 1, Article 11 of the Ordinance on Procedures for Settlement of Civil Cases, Clause 1, Article 13 of the Ordinance on Procedures for Settlement of Economic Cases and Clause 1, Article 12 of the Ordinance on Procedures for Settlement of Labor Disputes; but by July 1, 2009 at the latest, all the people's courts of rural districts, urban districts, provincial capitals, provincial towns shall uniformly perform the competence to settle civil cases prescribed in Article 33 of the Civil Procedure Code.

The Supreme People's Court shall coordinate with the Supreme People's Procuracy and the Government in proposing the National Assembly Standing Committee to decide on the people's courts of rural districts, urban districts, provincial capitals, provincial towns to be entitled to perform the jurisdiction to settle civil cases prescribed in Article 33 of the Civil Procedure Code.

The Government, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuracy shall, within the scope of their respective functions and tasks, have to expiditiously consolidate the material foundations and the contingents of officials of the courts and the procuracies of the rural districts, urban districts, provincial capitals, provincial towns, which are not yet qualified for implementation, in order to ensure that all the people's courts of rural districts, urban districts, provincial capitals, provincial towns uniformly perform the jurisdiction to settle civil cases prescribed in Article 33 of the Civil Procedure Code.

4. From the date the Civil Procedure Code is promulgated to the date it takes effect:

a) The time limits for protests according to the cassation or reopening procedures against civil, marriage and family, economic or labor judgments and decisions which had taken effect before the promulgation of the Civil Procedure Code shall comply with the corresponding provisions in Articles 73 and 79 of the Ordinance on Procedures for Settlement of Civil Cases, Articles 77 and 83 of the Ordinance on Procedures for Settlement of Economic Cases and Article 75 of the Ordinance on Procedures for Settlement of Labor Disputes;

b) The time limits for protests according to cassation or reopening procedures against civil, marriage and family, economic or labor judgments and decisions which take effect after the promulgation of the Civil Procedure Code shall comply with the provisions in Articles 288 and 308 of the Civil Procedure Code.

5. All civil, marriage and family, economic or labor disputes and claims, which arise before the date the Civil Procedure Code takes effect and for which the previous legal documents have failed to prescribe the statute of limitations for institution of lawsuits and the statute of limitations for claims, shall comply with the statute of limitations prescribed in Article 159 of the Civil Procedure Codes.

6. The Government, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuracy shall, within the scope of their respective functions and tasks, have to coordinate with the Central Committee of Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organizations in propagating and widely disseminating the Civil Procedure Code among the public servants, State employees and people in order to contribute to enhancing the socialist legislation, promoting the effect of the Civil Procedure Code in protecting the interests of the State, the legitimate rights and interests of individuals, agencies and organizations.

7. The National Assembly Standing Committee, the Government, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuracy shall have to implement and guide the implementation of this Resolution.

National Assembly Chairman
NGUYEN VAN AN