1. Legal Grounds Governing the Suspension of Civil Proceedings and the Right to Refile a Lawsuit
The right to refile a lawsuit following a decision to suspend civil proceedings is governed by the following applicable legal instruments:
- 2015 Civil Procedure Code:
- Article 192: Return of statements of claim and the right to resubmit them.
- Article 217: Grounds for suspending the resolution of civil cases.
- Article 218: Legal consequences of suspending the resolution of civil cases (the key provision determining whether a party may refile a lawsuit).
- Articles 227 and 228: Handling cases where parties are absent from court hearings.
- Resolution No. 326/2016/UBTVQH14 of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly: Provides for the rates, exemptions, reductions, collection, payment, management, and use of court fees and charges, including the handling of advance court fee payments when proceedings are suspended.
- Resolution No. 04/2017/NQ-HDTP of the Council of Judges of the Supreme People’s Court: Provides guidance on certain provisions concerning the return of statements of claim and the right to resubmit statements of claim in civil proceedings.
2. Legal Consequences of a Decision to Suspend the Resolution of a Civil Case
Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 218 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code, the general principle is established as follows:
“Upon the issuance of a decision to suspend the resolution of a civil case, the parties shall not be entitled to initiate a new lawsuit requesting the Court to resolve the same civil case, provided that the subsequent lawsuit does not differ from the previous case in terms of the plaintiff, defendant, and disputed legal relationship, except for the cases specified in Clause 3, Article 192, Point c, Clause 1, Article 217 of this Code, and other cases as prescribed by law.”
Accordingly, the law establishes the following rule: As a general principle, a party is NOT entitled to refile a lawsuit. However, exceptions are permitted in certain specific circumstances, either due to objective factors or to ensure citizens’ access to justice.
3. Circumstances in Which a Party Is Entitled to Refile a Lawsuit
Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 218, in conjunction with Clause 3, Article 192 and Point c, Clause 1, Article 217 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code, a party is entitled to resubmit a statement of claim if the previous case was suspended under one of the following circumstances:
3.1. The Plaintiff Withdraws All Claims (Point c, Clause 1, Article 217)
- During the trial preparation stage or at the court hearing, the plaintiff voluntarily submits a request to withdraw all claims (for example, to allow the opposing party additional time to voluntarily repay a debt or to collect further and more reliable evidence).
- Where the Court suspends the case on this ground, the party retains the full right to file a new lawsuit at any time, provided that the limitation period for initiating legal proceedings in respect of the relevant legal relationship has not expired.
3.2. Proceedings Are Suspended Because the Plaintiff Is Absent from Two Court Hearings (Point c, Clause 1, Article 192)
- The plaintiff has been duly summoned by the Court for the second time but remains absent, without a force majeure event or objective obstacle, and has not submitted a request for the trial to proceed in their absence.
- The Court issues a decision to suspend the case on the basis that the plaintiff is deemed to have abandoned the lawsuit. However, the plaintiff is subsequently entitled to file a new lawsuit from the beginning.
3.3. Proceedings Are Suspended Because the Conditions for Initiating a Lawsuit Have Not Been Satisfied, but Such Conditions Have NOW Been Satisfied (Point b, Clause 1, Article 192)
- The case is suspended because, at the time the statement of claim was filed, the statutory conditions for initiating legal proceedings had not been satisfied. Examples include:
- A dispute concerning land boundaries or rights of way where the parties have not yet completed the mandatory conciliation procedure at the commune-level People’s Committee as required under the Law on Land;
- The contract contains a clause requiring the parties to complete conciliation or negotiation before bringing the dispute before the Court, but this procedure has not yet been carried out;
- The claimant has not issued a debt collection notice at least 30 days in advance as required under the contract.
- Right to refile: Once the party has completed the conciliation procedure at the commune-level People’s Committee (with minutes recording that the conciliation was unsuccessful) or has duly issued the required notice within the prescribed period, the party is entitled to lawfully resubmit the statement of claim.
3.4. Proceedings Are Suspended Due to Uncertainty Regarding Civil Act Capacity or Legal Representation (Point a, Clause 1, Article 192)
- The plaintiff does not have the requisite civil procedural capacity or lacks a lawful representative. Once a guardian or legal representative has been appointed, or the Court has designated a representative, such representative may initiate a new lawsuit.
3.5. Marriage and Family Disputes, Child Custody, Child Support, and Changes to the Person Directly Raising a Child
- Given the particular personal nature of these matters, disputes concerning divorce petitions, requests to change child support amounts, and requests to change the person directly raising a child following divorce, among others, may be brought again even if previous proceedings were suspended, where new circumstances arise or where otherwise permitted by law. Accordingly, the parties retain the right to file a new lawsuit in accordance with the applicable legal provisions.
4. Cases in Which Refiling a Lawsuit Is Prohibited
If a case is suspended under any of the following circumstances, the parties ARE NOT PERMITTED to refile the same lawsuit. Any subsequent statement of claim may be returned by the Court:
- The plaintiff withdraws the claims, but an interested party with independent claims does not withdraw their claims (Point c, Clause 1, Article 217): The proceedings continue with respect to the independent claims. The claims withdrawn by the plaintiff cannot be separately refiled if they have already been fully resolved in the same proceedings.
- An agency or organization has been dissolved or declared bankrupt, or an individual has died and their rights and obligations are not inherited (Point a, Clause 1, Article 217): The dispute concerns rights or obligations strictly personal to the deceased that cannot be transferred by inheritance under the law (for example, a claim for compensation for personal reputational damage after the injured individual has died, where no successor is legally entitled to pursue the claim).
- The case has already been resolved by a legally effective judgment or decision (Point d, Clause 1, Article 217): The dispute has been conclusively resolved between the parties by a legally effective Court judgment or an arbitral award issued by a commercial arbitration tribunal, in accordance with the principle that “no one shall be tried twice for the same matter.”
- The dispute falls within the jurisdiction of commercial arbitration (Point g, Clause 1, Article 217): The parties to a commercial contract have entered into a valid arbitration agreement, and such agreement is neither invalid nor incapable of being performed. The Court suspends the proceedings so that the parties may refer the dispute to arbitration and will not subsequently accept the same case for resolution.
CONTACT LEGAL CONSULTANT:
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1. Lawyer Vu Thi Phuong Thanh, Ha Noi Bar Association
Email: vtpthanh@tlalaw.vn
2. Lawyer Tran My Le, Ha Noi Bar Association
Email: tmle@tlalaw.vn
Nguyen Thuy Duong