In Vietnam, a civil or commercial case is normally heard at first instance by the regional people's court for the area where the defendant lives or has its head office, with the provincial-level court mainly hearing appeals since the court reorganisation of 1 July 2025. Parties can sometimes agree on a different court, the claimant can choose among several courts in specific situations, and disputes over land or buildings in Vietnam go to the court where the property is located. An arbitration agreement can remove the case from the courts entirely.
Jurisdiction sounds technical, but it is where many foreign claimants lose their first months. File in the wrong court and the claim is returned or transferred; rely on an outdated guide and you may target a court level that no longer exists. This article explains the three layers of jurisdiction, how the system looks after the 2025 reform, how cases with a foreign party are treated, and what contract clauses can and cannot do. The reform is recent and some details are still settling, so confirm the competent court with the court itself or a licensed Vietnamese lawyer before filing.
Three questions every claim must answer
Vietnamese procedure looks at jurisdiction in three layers, and your claim must pass all of them. The first is the type of dispute. The Civil Procedure Code distinguishes civil disputes, business and commercial disputes, labour disputes, and marriage and family disputes, and each has its own list of matters a court may hear. Some disputes do not belong to the civil courts at all: a challenge to a decision of a state agency, such as a refusal to issue a licence, generally goes down the administrative litigation route, which follows a separate law and its own rules.
The second layer is the level of court. Vietnam's courts are arranged in a hierarchy, and the Code assigns first-instance cases to a particular level depending on the kind of case. The 2025 reform changed this allocation significantly, which is why older guides can mislead you.
The third layer is territory: among courts of the right level, which one, geographically, is competent. For most claims this is decided by the defendant's residence or head office, but there are agreed and optional alternatives, and a few situations where only one court can hear the case.
On top of these sits a preliminary question for international disputes: whether Vietnamese courts can hear the case at all, given that a foreign party is involved. And above everything, a valid arbitration agreement generally takes priority over court jurisdiction. Working through these questions in order, before drafting the claim, is the cheapest legal work you will ever pay for.
How the court system is arranged for civil cases since 1 July 2025
From 1 July 2025, Vietnam reorganised its people's courts at the same time as it moved to two-tier local government with 34 provinces and centrally governed cities. District-level courts and the former high people's courts ceased to exist. The table gives the broad picture for civil and commercial matters; exact allocations should be checked against the current Code and court announcements.
| Court | Main role in civil and commercial cases | What to keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| Supreme People's Court | Reviews legally effective judgments under the cassation and reopening procedures in the cases assigned to it; issues guidance and selects precedents | It does not hear ordinary first-instance claims |
| Provincial-level people's court | Mainly hears appeals against first-instance judgments of regional courts in its area; also has review functions under the amended rules | Older guides describe it as the first-instance court for cases with a foreign party; that allocation has changed |
| Regional people's court | Hears most civil, commercial, labour and family cases at first instance, including many with a foreign element | Each covers an area made up of several communes and wards; find the one covering the defendant's address |
| Specialised divisions and designated courts | Certain matters, such as bankruptcy and intellectual property disputes, are reported to be concentrated in designated regional courts in some major cities | Confirm the current designation before filing a specialised claim |
Because a regional court covers a group of communes and wards rather than a former district, the court that served a given address before July 2025 may not be the one serving it now. Check the defendant's current administrative address and the court list together.
Territorial jurisdiction: the defendant's court and the alternatives
The default is the defendant's home court. A claim against an individual goes to the court where the defendant resides or works; a claim against a company goes to the court where it has its head office. This is the safe starting point for almost every contract claim against a Vietnamese company.
The parties may agree on the claimant's court. The Code allows the parties to agree in writing that the court where the claimant resides or has its head office will hear the case. For a foreign claimant without a Vietnamese address this option is often of limited use, but a Vietnamese subsidiary suing a local customer may benefit from it.
The claimant can choose in certain situations. Where the dispute arose from the operations of a defendant's branch, the claimant may sue at the court of the branch. In contract disputes, the court of the place of performance may be available. For damage outside a contract, the court where the damage occurred may hear the claim. If the defendant's address is unknown, the court of its last known residence or of its property may be used.
Real property is fixed. A dispute over immovable property, such as land use rights or a building, belongs to the court where the property is located, and no agreement between the parties can move it elsewhere.
Transfers are possible but cost time. If a court finds it lacks jurisdiction after accepting a case, it transfers the file to the competent court, and disputes over jurisdiction between courts are resolved by a higher court. The case survives, but weeks or months disappear.
Cases with a foreign element: can a Vietnamese court hear them?
A case has a foreign element when at least one party is a foreign individual or organisation, when the events giving rise to the dispute happened abroad, or when the property in dispute is located abroad. For such cases the Code contains a separate set of rules on international jurisdiction, which decide whether Vietnamese courts are competent before the internal rules decide which court.
In broad terms, Vietnamese courts can hear a dispute with a foreign element when the defendant is an individual residing in Vietnam or an organisation with its head office, branch or representative office in Vietnam; when the defendant has property in Vietnam; when the contract was concluded or performed, wholly or partly, in Vietnam; or when the facts giving rise to the claim occurred in Vietnam. For a typical foreign supplier owed money by a Vietnamese buyer, these connections are easy to establish.
The Code also reserves certain matters exclusively to Vietnamese courts. The most important for foreigners is any dispute over rights to immovable property located in Vietnam. A judgment from a foreign court on such a matter will not be recognised in Vietnam, however carefully it was obtained.
Being able to sue in Vietnam is not the same as being required to. If your Vietnamese counterparty has assets abroad, or your contract chose a foreign court, suing elsewhere may be possible. But a foreign judgment needs a separate recognition procedure before it can be enforced in Vietnam, so where the assets are in Vietnam, a Vietnamese court or an arbitration seated or enforceable here is usually the practical route.
Choice-of-court and arbitration clauses: what they can and cannot do
Commercial contracts often say which court or forum will resolve disputes. An arbitration clause is the most powerful of these in Vietnam: if it is valid and capable of being performed, a Vietnamese court will generally refuse to hear the dispute and leave it to the arbitral tribunal. The clause can name a Vietnamese centre, a foreign institution or ad hoc arbitration. Courts may treat the clause as void or unworkable if, for example, it names an institution that does not exist or leaves it unclear which dispute it covers, so precise drafting matters.
A clause choosing a foreign court is less straightforward. It may support a foreign court's jurisdiction, but it does not automatically stop a Vietnamese court from accepting a case that falls within Vietnamese jurisdiction, and a judgment from the chosen foreign court would still have to go through recognition in Vietnam to be enforced here. If enforcement against assets in Vietnam is your priority, think twice before choosing a foreign court.
A clause choosing a specific Vietnamese court has to fit within what the Code permits. The parties can agree on the court of the claimant's residence or head office, but they cannot create jurisdiction for a court that the Code does not allow, and they cannot override exclusive jurisdiction over real property.
If you are negotiating a contract now, the forum clause deserves as much attention as the price. Many disputes are decided long before the first hearing, at the moment someone signed a vague clause.
Finding the competent court: a practical routine
Before drafting anything, run through the following checks with your lawyer or on your own as preparation for the first meeting.
- Read the contract's dispute resolution clause and every annex. If there is an arbitration clause, pause the court plan and get the clause assessed.
- Classify the dispute: civil, business and commercial, labour, or family. Note whether any part of it is really a challenge to a state decision, which belongs to the administrative route.
- Check whether the case has a foreign element and confirm that Vietnamese courts have international jurisdiction based on the defendant, the property or the place of performance.
- Look up the defendant's current registered address in the business registration records and confirm the commune or ward under the new two-tier structure.
- Identify the regional court covering that address from the current court list, and check whether the matter is one that has been concentrated in a designated court.
- Consider whether an optional court, such as the court of the place of performance or of a branch, would be better for evidence or convenience.
- Call or visit the court's reception desk to confirm that it will accept the type of claim before you file, and write down the name of the officer and the date of the conversation.
This routine takes an afternoon and spares you a returned claim. If anything in the first three steps is unclear, that is the point to involve a licensed lawyer.
When you need a Vietnamese lawyer
Jurisdiction is the area where the 2025 reform makes old knowledge dangerous. Rules that experienced practitioners applied for a decade, such as sending every case with a foreign party to the provincial court, were rewritten, and implementing guidance on how regional courts divide work has been arriving in stages. A lawyer who litigates regularly in the courts concerned will know the current practice, including which courts have been designated for specialised matters.
You particularly need advice when your contract has an arbitration or foreign-court clause, when the defendant has moved or operates through branches in several provinces, when land or buildings are involved, when you are considering suing both in Vietnam and abroad, or when you suspect the dispute is really about a decision of a state agency. Each of these can change the forum, and a wrong choice can cost you the limitation period as well as time.
Ask the lawyer to confirm the competent court in writing as part of the first advice, together with the reasoning, so that you can follow the logic and check it if anything changes. Only a lawyer licensed in Vietnam can represent you in court, but a short consultation on the forum question is usually enough to start on the right foot.
Frequently asked questions
Are there still district courts in Vietnam?
No. Since 1 July 2025 the district-level people's courts have been replaced by regional people's courts, each covering an area of several communes and wards. Older articles and contract templates that refer to a district court describe the previous system and need to be read with that change in mind.
Does a case with a foreign party still go to the provincial court?
Not automatically. Under the previous rules, cases with a foreign element were generally heard at first instance by provincial courts, but the 2025 reform moved most first-instance work to regional courts. Confirm the current allocation for your type of case with the court or a licensed lawyer.
Can I sue in the court where my own company is based?
Only in limited situations. The default is the defendant's court, but the parties may agree in writing on the court of the claimant's head office, and some optional rules, such as the place of contract performance, can help. A foreign company without a Vietnamese address usually sues where the defendant is.
What happens if I file in the wrong court?
The court will either return your claim before accepting it or, if it has already accepted the case, transfer the file to the competent court. Your case is not lost, but the delay can be significant, and in a dispute close to the limitation deadline, delay is a real risk.
Can a foreign court decide a dispute about land in Vietnam?
Disputes over rights to immovable property located in Vietnam fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of Vietnamese courts. A foreign judgment on such a matter will not be recognised or enforced in Vietnam, so these disputes have to be brought before the Vietnamese court where the property is located.
Does an arbitration clause stop me from going to court?
Generally yes, if the clause is valid and capable of being performed. The court will decline the case and leave it to arbitration. Courts can, however, still play a supporting role, for example on certain interim measures, so ask a lawyer how the clause and the court interact in your situation.