On September 10, 2024, the Supreme People's Court of Vietnam issued Official Dispatch No. 163/TANDTC-PC ("Official Dispatch No. 163") providing guidance to the People's Courts on resolving certain judicial challenges. Notably, the letter includes new guidelines in the civil law area, such as:
1. The court can compel to suspend the proceedings in a case where the plaintiff withdraws all claims as recorded in the court's mediation minutes, without the need for an additional written withdrawal of the claim by the plaintiff. This regulation is analogous to a case where the defendant retracts their counterclaim and the interested party withdraws their independent claim.
2. A real estate dispute is legally accepted by the local court where the property is located. However, during the trial process, there is an administrative boundary division or merger, resulting in the disputed property now belonging to another locality. This change in jurisdiction has raised complex legal questions.
- In cases where the Court has not yet scheduled a trial, the case file shall be transferred to the local court having jurisdiction over the real estate following the division or merger.
- If the Court has issued a Decision to bring the case to trial, the Court shall not transfer the case file and shall continue to handle the case.
3. The court will consider validating an unregistered land transfer contract that breaches subdivision requirements only if the following criteria are satisfied:
- The transferee has performed two-thirds of the obligations or has paid in full to the transferor;
- The transferee has built a house on the transferred land without facing any legal consequences from the local government;
- Once the subdivided plot meets the minimum land area requirements or is combined with a neighboring plot to create a new plot that satisfies the minimum area.
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