A draft law on enforcement of civil judgments has been recently finalized and put up for public comment.
The 207-article draft law, which is designed to replace the 2004 Ordinance on Enforcement of Civil Judgments, provides for the principles and procedures for enforcement of civil judgments and rulings; property-related parts in administrative and criminal rulings of courts; the Competition Case Settlement Council’s decisions on the settlement of competition cases and awards of commercial arbitrations.
It would govern all activities of civil judgment enforcement in Vietnam, unless otherwise provided for by treaties to which Vietnam is a contracting party.
In order to ensure effective judgment enforcement, as compared with the current Ordinance, the draft law vests more powers to judgment enforcers.
Specifically, enforcers may search and seize properties for judgment enforcement. They may also conduct body search on persons against whom judgments are enforced if having grounds to believe that these persons hide valuables in their bodies. However, body search may only be conducted upon decisions of competent authorities and in cases in which it can be affirmed that if the search is not carried out immediately, these properties may be dispersed or destroyed.
Judgment enforcers would also be allowed to apply necessary coercive measures to recover money amounts paid or properties handed over in contravention of law to persons in favor of whom judgments are enforced, collect judgment enforcement charges and fines for administrative violations in judgment enforcement.
The draft law also imposes more obligations on persons in favor of whom judgments are enforced. It requires these persons to supply information on debtors’ properties or conditions for judgment enforcement. Judgment enforcement bodies would organize judgment enforcement only after these persons provide them with adequate evidence proving that their debtors have conditions for judgment enforcement.
Another new point in the draft law is mobilization of people to take part in judgment enforcement activities. Individuals who satisfy certain conditions would be granted judgment enforcement licenses and may establish or join in judgment enforcement organizations to enforce court judgments at the request of clients or to perform several jobs authorized by public judgment enforcement bodies.
The draft law is to be passed by the National Assembly at its year-end session and come into force on July 1, 2009.-