High Hopes For The New Law On Commercial Arbitration

Vietnam has continuously developed its legal environment to support and attract the business community and investors. As a result, the Law on Commercial Arbitration (the “LCA”) has been promulgated to create a flexible framework for individuals and organizations to resolve disputes by means of private arbitration, although some inadequacies still remain. 

Our Article thus aims at providing recommendations on the LCA’s legal aspect through (i) comparing its broadening scope of arbitration to the 2003 Ordinance on Commercial Arbitration, according to which it points out the lack of clarity to understand the meanings of “commercial activities” and “other disputes”; (ii) specifying how important the qualification and professional conduct of arbitrators is; and (iii) highlighting the ambiguity of the LCA concerning the jurisdiction of foreign arbitration organizations’ branches and representative offices in Vietnam.

Subsequently, the Article discusses the current situation of arbitration centers in Vietnam compared to the courts and other abroad arbitration centers regarding the tendencies of selection for dispute resolution. Finally, the Article concludes with praise towards the LCA for its substantial efforts in changing the landscape of dispute resolution in Vietnam and encourages foreign as well as domestic business communities to take comfort in these regulations.

The full PDF version of our Article can be read here.

Keywords: the Law on Commercial Arbitration; the LCA; dispute resolution; commercial activities; commercial arbitration; WTO commitments; the 2003 Ordinance on Commercial Arbitration.