THỜI ĐIỂM NỘP VĂN BẢN TRÌNH BÀY Ý KIẾN CỦA BỊ ĐƠN VỀ NỘI DUNG KHỞI KIỆN CỦA NGUYÊN ĐƠN / TIME LIMIT

Legal situation: I have recently received a notice from the Court stating that I am a defendant in an inheritance dispute case currently being accepted and resolved by the Court. The Court requests that, within 15 days from the date of receipt of this notice, I submit a written statement presenting my opinions regarding the contents of the claim and any counterclaim (if any). Due to my work commitments, I am unable to prepare and submit my written statement within this period. May I submit it after the prescribed period? I would greatly appreciate your advice.

FDVN’s opinion:

Thank you for sending your question to FDVN Law Firm (“FDVN”). In response to your request for legal advice, after reviewing the relevant legal provisions, FDVN would like to provide the following comments:

According to Clause 1 Article 199 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015, within 15 days from the date of receipt of the notice, the defendant and persons with related rights and obligations must submit to the Court a written statement of their opinions regarding the plaintiff’s claims, together with supporting documents and evidence, as well as any counterclaim or independent claim (if any). Where an extension is necessary, the defendant or persons with related rights and obligations must submit a written request for extension to the Court, clearly stating the reasons therefore. If the request for extension is well-grounded, the Court must grant an extension, but such extension shall not exceed 15 days.

Under the Civil Procedure Code 2015, with respect to the right to file a counterclaim, the defendant is entitled to file a counterclaim before the opening of the meeting for the inspection of the submission, access to and disclosure of evidence and conciliation (Clause 3 Article 200 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015).

In addition, Clause 2 Article 210 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015 provides that, during the inspection of the submission, access to and disclosure of evidence, the Judge shall disclose the documents and evidence contained in the case file and ask the litigants about the following matters:

(a) Claims and scope of the lawsuit; amendments, supplements, changes to or withdrawal of claims, counterclaims or independent claims; matters agreed upon and matters not agreed upon for the Court’s resolution;

(b) Documents and evidence submitted to the Court and the delivery of such documents and evidence to other litigants;

(c) Supplementation of documents and evidence; requests for the Court to collect documents and evidence; requests for the Court to summon other litigants, witnesses and other participants in the proceedings to attend the trial;

(d) Other matters that the litigants consider necessary.

Furthermore, Point b Clause 4 Article 210 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015 provides that, during conciliation procedures, the plaintiff and his/her lawful representative for the protection of rights and interests shall present the contents of the dispute, supplement claims, provide grounds supporting such claims, and propose opinions on matters requiring conciliation and possible solutions to the case (if any).

Moreover, Official Letter No. 1083/VKSTC-V9 dated 26 March 2024 issued by the Supreme People’s Procuracy contains guidance regarding the time limit for trial preparation when litigants supplement claims, counterclaims or independent claims, specifically stating:

“The plaintiff, defendant and persons with related rights and obligations may submit or supplement claims, counterclaims or independent claims no later than the meeting for the inspection of the submission, access to and disclosure of evidence and conciliation during the trial preparation stage (Clause 3 Article 200, Clause 2 Article 201, and Clause 2 and Point b Clause 4 Article 210 of the Civil Procedure Code).”

Accordingly, the trial preparation period applies to the entire case and does not depend on the time at which each type of claim is accepted. The Civil Procedure Code has also determined the latest time at which litigants may submit or supplement claims so as to ensure that the Court can perform its duties during the trial preparation stage. After such time, the Court may still accept a new claim if resolving that claim within the same case is necessary and does not require additional verification or collection of evidence that would prolong the trial preparation period.

Therefore, within 15 days from the date of receipt of the notice, the defendant must submit to the Court a written statement of opinions regarding the plaintiff’s claims. If an extension is required, you may submit a written request for extension to the Court stating the reasons therefor. If the request is well-grounded, the Court must grant an extension, but for no more than 15 days.

If the above time limit expires and you neither submit your written statement nor request an extension, or if your request for extension is not accepted by the Court, you may still submit a written statement regarding the plaintiff’s claims after such period during the first-instance trial preparation stage, or present your opinions during conciliation sessions or during the first-instance trial proceedings in the adversarial stage of the hearing.

However, if you have a counterclaim, such counterclaim must be submitted before the opening of the meeting for the inspection of the submission, access to and disclosure of evidence and conciliation (Article 200 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015).

The above constitutes FDVN’s legal opinion regarding your request based on our review of the relevant legal provisions. We hope that this advice will be useful to you.

Nguyen Thi Huyen Trang - FDVN Law Firm