REGULATIONS ON COERCIVE ENFORCEMENT OF CIVIL JUDGMENTS

In a developed society, the legal system is established in a comprehensive and rigorous manner to protect the lawful rights and interests of all individuals and organizations without discrimination. Respect for and compliance with the law are essential to maintaining social order and justice. However, in practice, parties do not always voluntarily fulfill their obligations and responsibilities, particularly in cases involving disputes or contractual breaches. Even where a Court Judgment or Decision requires enforcement, non-compliance, delay, or refusal to perform obligations may still occur.
Therefore, coercive enforcement of civil judgments becomes necessary to compel judgment debtors to fulfill their obligations and to safeguard the lawful rights and interests of judgment creditors. Nevertheless, this process is often complex and may encounter obstacles from both legal and practical perspectives.

I. What Is Coercive Enforcement of Civil Judgments?

Pursuant to Clause 2, Article 9 of the Law on Civil Judgment Enforcement, it is provided that:

"Where a judgment debtor has conditions for enforcement but fails to voluntarily enforce the judgment, coercive enforcement shall be applied in accordance with this Law."

In general terms, coercive enforcement of civil judgments refers to measures applied to compel a party to fulfill its obligations where it fails to voluntarily comply with a court judgment or decision, or a decision of a competent civil judgment enforcement authority.

Voluntary Enforcement Period

Pursuant to Article 45 of the Law on Civil Judgment Enforcement:

Article 45. Voluntary Enforcement Period

1.      The voluntary enforcement period shall be ten (10) days from the date the judgment debtor receives the enforcement decision or is duly notified thereof.

2.      Where it is necessary to prevent the judgment debtor from dispersing or destroying assets or committing other acts to evade enforcement, the enforcement officer shall immediately apply measures prescribed in Chapter IV of this Law.

Time Limits for Coercive Enforcement

Pursuant to Article 46 of the Law on Civil Judgment Enforcement:

Article 46. Coercive Enforcement

1.      Upon expiration of the voluntary enforcement period prescribed in Clause 1, Article 45 of this Law, if the judgment debtor has conditions for enforcement but fails to voluntarily enforce the judgment, coercive enforcement shall be applied.

2.      Coercive enforcement shall not be carried out between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. of the following day, on public holidays, statutory days off, or in other special cases as prescribed by the Government.

II. General Regulations on Coercive Enforcement of Civil Judgments

a. Grounds for Coercive Enforcement

Pursuant to Article 70 of the Law on Civil Judgment Enforcement, the grounds for coercive enforcement include:

• Court judgments or decisions;
• Enforcement decisions;
• Decisions on coercive enforcement, except in cases where the judgment or decision already orders seizure or freezing of assets or accounts, or where enforcement of interim emergency measures ordered by the Court is carried out.

b. Measures of Coercive Enforcement

Pursuant to Article 71 of the Law on Civil Judgment Enforcement, coercive enforcement measures include:

• Deduction of money from accounts; recovery and handling of money and valuable papers of the judgment debtor;
• Deduction from the income of the judgment debtor;
• Seizure and handling of assets of the judgment debtor, including assets held by third parties;
• Exploitation of assets of the judgment debtor;
• Compulsory transfer of property, transfer of property rights, or delivery of documents;
• Compelling the judgment debtor to perform or refrain from performing specific acts.

c. Plan for Coercive Enforcement

Pursuant to Article 72 of the Law on Civil Judgment Enforcement:

• Except in cases requiring immediate enforcement, enforcement officers must prepare a coercive enforcement plan prior to implementation.
• The enforcement plan shall include the following key contents:
• Name of the person subject to coercive enforcement;
• Applicable coercive measures;
• Time and location of enforcement;
• Enforcement procedures;
• Requirements for security forces;
• Estimated enforcement costs.
• The enforcement plan must be promptly sent to the People’s Procuracy, the police authority at the same level, the People’s Committee of the commune/ward where enforcement takes place, and relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals. These entities are responsible for cooperating in accordance with the enforcement officer’s plan and requests.
• Within three (03) working days from receipt of the enforcement plan, the police authority shall prepare a security plan for enforcement.
• The police authority is responsible for deploying necessary personnel and equipment to maintain order, protect the enforcement site, promptly prevent and handle asset dispersion, obstruction, or resistance to enforcement, temporarily detain resisting individuals, and initiate criminal proceedings where signs of criminal offenses exist.

d. Costs of Coercive Enforcement

Pursuant to Article 73 of the Law on Civil Judgment Enforcement:

Costs borne by the judgment debtor include:

• Costs of notification of coercive enforcement;
• Costs of purchasing materials and fuel; hiring vehicles, protective equipment, medical services, fire prevention and firefighting equipment, and other necessary tools for enforcement;
• Costs for asset valuation, appraisal, and auction; re-valuation costs (except where otherwise prescribed by law);
• Costs for hiring, storage, preservation, loading, unloading, transportation of assets; labor costs; construction, partitioning, demolition expenses; surveying and boundary determination costs;
• Costs related to temporary seizure or confiscation of assets and documents;
• Allowances for individuals directly participating in and protecting enforcement activities.

Costs borne by the judgment creditor include:

• Re-valuation costs if requested by the judgment creditor, except where re-valuation is required due to legal violations;
• Part or all of construction or demolition costs if the judgment or decision assigns such costs to the judgment creditor.

Costs paid by the State budget include:

• Re-valuation costs where valuation violations occur;
• Costs of verifying enforcement conditions;
• Other necessary costs as prescribed by the Government;
• Cases where parties are entitled to exemption or reduction of enforcement costs under the law.
• Enforcement officers must estimate enforcement costs and notify the judgment debtor at least three (03) working days prior to the scheduled enforcement date, except where immediate enforcement is required. Such costs shall be temporarily advanced from the State budget.
• Enforcement costs shall be settled based on actual, reasonable expenses approved by the head of the civil judgment enforcement authority upon proposal of the enforcement officer.
• The head of the civil judgment enforcement authority shall decide on exemption or reduction of enforcement costs.
• Enforcement costs shall be paid by the parties or deducted from recovered amounts or proceeds from auctioned seized assets, including assets held by third parties. After asset handling or fund recovery, the enforcement officer must promptly reimburse any advanced funds.
• The Government shall regulate allowances for individuals directly participating in and protecting enforcement activities, as well as procedures for collection, payment, exemption, and reduction of enforcement costs.

III. Regulations on the Right to File Complaints in Civil Judgment Enforcement

Pursuant to Article 140 of the Law on Civil Judgment Enforcement, regarding the right to file complaints in enforcement proceedings, including coercive enforcement:

• Judgment debtors, judgment creditors, and persons with related rights and obligations have the right to file complaints against decisions or actions of the head of the civil judgment enforcement authority or enforcement officers if there are grounds to believe that such decisions or actions are unlawful and infringe upon their lawful rights and interests.

Time Limits for Filing Complaints

• 15 days for decisions or actions prior to the application of security or coercive measures, from the date of receipt or awareness;
• 03 working days for decisions on freezing bank accounts;
• 10 days for other security measures;
• 30 days for decisions or actions applying coercive measures;
• 30 days for decisions or actions after coercive measures have been applied.

Where a complaint cannot be filed within the prescribed time limit due to objective obstacles or force majeure events, such period shall not be included in the complaint time limit.

For subsequent complaints, the time limit is 15 days from the date of receipt of the competent authority’s complaint resolution decision.

Conclusion

Coercive enforcement of assets in civil judgment enforcement is a measure of last resort to ensure the execution of court judgments and decisions. Nevertheless, such enforcement must strictly comply with legal regulations to safeguard the lawful rights and interests of all parties involved.

The above constitutes CELIGAL Law Firm LLC’s overview of regulations on coercive enforcement of civil judgments. Should you encounter any legal difficulties, please feel free to contact us. We are confident in providing high-quality legal services to our valued clients.