The People's Court of Hanoi. It is advisable for firms to use mediation and arbitration to resolve their commercial disputes rather settle them in court. (Photo: toaan.hanoi.gov.vn) Chien was speaking at the seminar on "Resolving commercial disputes bymediation and arbitration to promote trade" on October 26.
The deputy director general said Vietnam's international trade was risingsteadily on grounds of multilateral agreements, including the CPTPP and EVFTA.Remarkable, its nine-month trade topped 558 billion USD, up 15.1% year-on-year.
As the country becomes more open to trade, so do its domestic firms tocommercial disputes. Legally, three tools are available to the firms to resolvedisputes out of court, which are negotiation, mediation and arbitration.
"Despite the advantages of mediation and arbitration, firms normally optfor litigation," he said.
Pham Thi Giang Thu, Head of the Vietnam Trade & Investment ArbitrationCenter (VTIAC), said the arbitration process in Vietnam is regulated by the Lawon Commercial Arbitration 2010, which can be used to resolve three specifictypes of disputes.
The three types of disputes comprise disputes arising from commercialactivities, disputes between parties in which at least one of them is engagedin commercial activities, and disputes prescribed by law to be resolved througharbitration.
She said arbitration offers more autonomy to parties with regard to proceduralmatters. Moreover, its procedures are simple and flexible, saving parties thebother of going through different levels of adjudication.
As an arbitration hearing is kept confidential, parties can preserve theirreputation and have their image untouched after the process. Most importantly,arbitral awards are legally enforceable as court verdicts.
"Arbitration has big advantages over litigation in terms of time andcosts," she said.
Nguyen Thanh Nam, Director of the law firm GATTACA, said mediation is a form ofdispute settlement in which a third party, the mediator, assists parties inconflict in reaching a mutually acceptable agreement.
He said mediation is recommended for firms to resolve disputes as this form ofdispute settlement incurs less time and money than legal action.
Additionally, parties can maintain their business relationship after theprocess as mediation gives them the opportunity to discuss their issues andreach common ground in that regard.
However, mediation has disadvantages. For instance, the unwillingness of oneparty can make the whole process a waste of time, effort and money.
Additionally, there are uncertainties around the enforceability of a mediationagreement as the agreement needs court orders to be legally binding.
"According to the Ministry of Justice, about 16.9% of disputes wereresolved through arbitration, 22.9% through negotiation, 46.8% by litigation in2018," he said.
Nguyen Minh Tuan, Lawyer of the HCM City Bar Association, spoke in favour ofarbitration by pointing to its VTIAC advantages: Validity, Timely, Independent,Authority, and Confidentiality.
Validity means arbitral awards are valid internationally. Timely represents itstime efficiency. Independent means the arbitral tribunal is not influenced byexternal powers.
Authority means parties have the right to choose their own arbitrators withrelevant experience and expertise. Confidentiality means arbitration hearingscan be held confidentially./.
VNA
