Divorce is the termination of husband and wife relationship
according to the court’s legally effective judgment or decision. Divorce
procedures are prescribed in the Civil Procedure Code, Law on Marriage and
Family, Law on Mediation at grassroots… There are two forms of divorce in
Vietnam: divorce at the request of one party (unilateral divorce) and divorce by mutual consent.
Divorce Dispute Law Firm in Vietnam
For divorce at the request of one party, the Court shall handle
divorce at the request of spouse if it has grounds to believe that a spouse
commits domestic violence or seriously infringes upon the rights and
obligations of the husband or wife, which seriously deteriorates the marriage
and makes their common life no longer impossible and the marriage purposes
unachievable. The goals of a marriage that are not achieved include unequal
obligations and rights between husband and wife; no husband and wife
friendship; husband and wife do not respect each other’s honor, dignity and
reputation; do not respect the right to freedom of belief and each other; do
not help, and facilitate each other to develop in all aspects. In addition, a
husband has no right to request a divorce when his wife is pregnant, gives
birth or is nursing an under-12-month child. This provision limits the
husband’s right to request a divorce when the wife is pregnant or is raising
children under 12 months of age and if the wife requests divorce, whether she
is pregnant or raising children under 12 months of age, the court the court
still accepts and resolves like other normal cases.
Documents to file divorce petition?
Documents required for unilateral divorce include: Unilateral
divorce application form; Marriage certificate (original copy); Identity card
of husband and wife (certified copy); Child’s birth certificate (if there are
common children, certified copy); Household registration book (certified copy);
Documents proving ownership of common property (if there is common property,
certified copy).
In order to proceed with a unilateral divorce, the petitioner
needs to file a lawsuit for divorce at the competent court. The Court where the
defendant resides and works is competent court to settle according to the
first-instance procedure disputes about marriage and family. Therefore, in the
case of unilateral divorce, the Court where the competent jurisdiction is
located is the place where the defendant resides and works. In case of
foreigners being husband or wife, the provincial/municipal courts are competent
courts to settle.
What is procedure of divorce petition?
Before accepting the divorce petition, the State and society
encourage the mediation at the grassroots level when the husband and wife
request the divorce with petition. Mediation is conducted in accordance with
the Mediation at grassroots.
After receiving the unilateral divorce petition, the Chief Justice
of the Court assigns the Judge to examine the application and relevant papers.
In case of necessity, the plaintiff shall notify the applicant of additional
papers and necessary information. If the dossier is complete and eligible to
accept the case, the Court shall notify the plaintiff of the advance payment of
court fees at the Civil Judgment Execution Bureau within 7 days and return it
to the Court a receipt of court fee advances. The judge proceeds to accept the
case upon receiving the receipt of payment of court fee advances and shall
notify the plaintiff, the defendant and the persons with relevant rights and
obligations regarding the acceptance of the case within 03 days. The defendant
and the persons with relevant rights and obligations within 15 days from the
date of receipt of the notice of acceptance have the right to make
counter-claims to the plaintiffs’ requests.
After the petition has been accepted, the Court shall conduct
conciliation according to the law on civil procedures. The judge assigned to
solve the case conducts a meeting to check the handover, access, disclosure of
evidence and mediation of divorce between the involved parties and analyze clearly
the rights and obligations for the involved parties to reach an agreement on
the resolution of the case. In case after mediation the husband and wife
reunite, it is considered the plaintiff withdraws the petition, and the Court
issues a decision to suspend their request. If they cannot reunite but reach an
agreement on the divorce, property division and children custody, after 7 days
from the date the Court makes the minutes of the mediation to the parties
without changing their mind. The Court shall recognize the divorce agreement
and issue a decision recognizing the agreement of the parties. In case of
unsuccessful mediation, the Court shall issue a decision to bring the case to
trial if it is not in the case of suspension of settlement as prescribed.
How court trial is opened for divorce petition
case?
Within 01 month from the day on which the decision to bring the
case to trial is issued, the Court must open a trial. In case of good reason,
this time limit may be extended but for no more than 2 months. At the end of
the trial, the result of unilateral divorce resolution will be decided by the
civil judgment. In case of unilateral divorce, the settlement time may be
longer, maybe from 04 to 06 months. In fact, due to possible child custody and
property disputes, the time to resolve may be longer.
For cases with disputes over assets, apart from the court fee of
VND 300,000, the involved parties must also bear court costs for the disputed
properties, determined according to the value of the disputed properties
according to the provisions.
It is important that the parties need to
research and prepare for relevant documents and procedures in their case and
consult with lawyers in civil, family and property division, child
custody disputes in Vietnam before taking action.
ANT Lawyers – a Divorce
Dispute Law Firm in Vietnam has experience lawyers
with divorce procedures or dispute matters of assets, properties in
Vietnam. For advice or service request, please contact us via email
ant@antlawyers.vn, or call us +84 24 730 86 529.
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