Vietnam Supreme People's Court capacity to be further improved
The UK-funded project will help improve Vietnam’s performance in recognising and enforcing foreign arbitral awards.
British Ambassador Giles Lever and Deputy Chief Justice Nguyen Thuy Hien sign the agreement
The British Embassy Hanoi and the Supreme People’s Court of Vietnam have agreed to work together under the framework of a new project funded by the UK government’s Prosperity Fund. The two parties will enhance the capacity of the Supreme People’s Court of Vietnam in handling foreign commercial disputes and requests for the enforcement of foreign court judgments and arbitration awards.
The project will provide a series of training courses drawing on international best practice to improve knowledge of Vietnamese laws in these areas. In addition, the SPC will publish a set of court precedents: decisions of the Justice Council of the Supreme People’s Court and of the Economic Court of the Superior People’s Court on international commercial disputes for lower and provincial courts as well as High Court and SPC judges to support their work in settling commercial disputes.
British Ambassador to Vietnam Giles Lever said:
I am very pleased that Vietnam is among the first countries to benefit from the new £1.3 billion Prosperity Fund announced by the UK Government in November 2015. One of the priorities of the Fund is to improve the business environment for domestic and foreign firms by promoting regulatory reform and improved legal and arbitration frameworks. Total funding of the project is over £105,000, of which £95,545 will be provided by the UK and £9,663 as Vietnamese counterpart funding. The UK has long-standing experience in arbitration and a worldwide reputation for the quality of its work in this field with its legal system built on the principle of a strong rule-of-law. Drawing on a wealth of UK expertise, this project will deliver long-term impact by improving Vietnam’s performance in recognising and enforcing foreign arbitral awards and application of precedents.
Deputy Chief Justice Nguyen Thuy Hien said:
The Supreme People’s Court is very pleased and highly appreciates the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s support to the Supreme People’s Court through the project “To strengthen the capacity of the Supreme People’s Court of Vietnam in handling foreign commercial cases and requests on recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments and foreign arbitral awards”. The Project Grant Contract Signing Ceremony today is the result of considerable efforts by both the British Embassy in Vietnam and the Supreme People’s Court.
In the course of its international integration, Vietnam has become increasingly involved in important agreements especially in commercial areas. Internal integration in general and economic integration in particular, brings about opportunities but also creates many challenges. One of the challenges is an increase in the number, complexity and diversity of international commercial disputes. In addition, requests for recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments and foreign arbitral awards are also increasing. In order to improve the effectiveness of court hearings in general, and dispute resolution in particular, it is important that judges and court staff improve their knowledge through sharing international best practice, understanding about Vietnamese laws and skills for court hearings.
In this context, support from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is very important. Successful implementation of the project will bring about practical impact by improving skills in handling international commercial disputes, requests for recognition and enforcement of judgments of foreign courts and foreign arbitral awards. This will in turn result in positive impact on the development of the business environment: it will protect the legitimate rights and interests of relevant parties thereby contributing to the creation of a fair environment for business and investment in Vietnam.