Vietnam’s recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards and preparation for EVFTA

SECO Working Paper 18/2017 by Nguyen Phuong Linh, Dinh Hoang Anh and Chu Thanh Giang
ABSTRACT: Arbitration activities in Vietnam is becoming a popular choice of investors in dispute resolution. However, European investors in Vietnam repeatedly raised concerns that it is extremely difficult in practice to achieve the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards through the Vietnamese courts. Now the European - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) which is expected to take effect in 2018 has imposed a new two-tier investment court system (ICS) for investors-States dispute settlement (ISDS) instead of traditional arbitration-based ISDS. This paper focuses on analysing the compatibility between the ICS mechanism and Vietnam legal framework and current practice in recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards, thereby proposing some recommendations for Vietnam’s preparation with the EVFTA ahead.