Withdrawing the petition at trial, does the plaintiff have to pay the court fee?

I am the plaintiff in a civil case. The trial case is coming soon. At the first instance trial, if I withdraw the petition, will I have to pay the court fee? Who will have the authority to make a decision if I withdraw in this case? Hope your company will respond soon.

FDVN’s opinion:

Sincerely thank you for your concerning our legal consulting service. We are glad to give you our advice on your question. 

[1]. About civil court fee when withdrawing petition at the trial:

According to the information provided by you, you are the plaintiff who withdraws the entire petition as prescribed at Point c, Clause 1, Article 217 of the Law on Civil Procedure 2015. 

Accordingly, Clause 3 Article 218 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code provides as follows:

"3. In cases where the Court issue decisions to terminate the resolution of civil lawsuits because the litigators withdraw all petitions for lawsuit initiation as provided for in point c and other cases specified in points d, dd, e and g clause 1 Article 217 of this Code, the Court fee advance money paid by the involved parties shall be refunded to the payers."

And Clause 3 Article 18 of Resolution No. 326/2016 / LHBTVQH14 on December 30th, 2016 of the National Assembly Standing Committee stipulating the levels of collection, exemption, reduction, collection, remittance, management and use of legal costs and court regulations: “In cases where the Court issue decisions to terminate the resolution of civil lawsuits because the litigators withdraw all petitions for lawsuit initiation as provided for in point c and clause 1 Article 217 of Civil Procedure Code, the Court fee advance money paid by the involved parties shall be refunded to the payers”.

In Section II.3 of Official Dispatch No. 64 / TANDTC-PC 2019 on Announce results of online answers to a number of questions about criminal, civil and administrative proceedings issued by the Supreme People's Court: 

"It must be understood that Clause 3, Article 218 of the Law on Civil Procedure 2015 and Clause 3, Article 18 of Resolution 326/2016/UBTVQH14 are applied for the trial preparation stage or at the trial. It cannot be applied the same procedure for the appellate and first-instance trial as it would be set up the heavier legal obligations for the litigant. Therefore, in case of suspension of the first-instance trial due to the plaintiff withdrawing the entire petition, whether before the opening of the trial or at the first-instance trial, the plaintiff will still be refunded the court fee. The litigants do not have to pay first-instance court fees."

Therefore, when you withdraw the entire petition at the first instance trial, you will still be refunded the court fee and not have to pay the first-instance court fee.

[2]. Regarding the competence to issue decisions to suspend the case:

Article 219 of the Code of Civil procedure stipulates the authority to issue a decision to suspend the resolution of civil cases, specifically:

“1. Before the opening of the trial, the Judges who are assigned to resolve the civil lawsuits shall be competent to issue decisions to suspend/resume/terminate the resolution of such civil lawsuits.

2. In the Court session, the trial panels shall be competent to issue decisions to terminate/resume/terminate the resolution of the civil lawsuits.”

Besides, Official Letter No. 64/TANDTC-PC 2019 on the results of online answers to a number of questions regarding criminal, civil and administrative proceedings issued by the Supreme People's Court:

"So is the trial opening date considered" at the trial "? Section 2, Chapter XIV of the Civil Procedure Code prescribes the procedure for starting the trial. Under the provisions of this Section, the trial begins with the procedure "Opening of the trial" (Article 239). Therefore, until the opening date of the trial (convened) but not yet opened the trial, it is not considered to be "the beginning of the trial" and not yet to be "at the trial". If the plaintiff submits an application to withdraw the lawsuit request before the opening of the trial, the judge is still competent to issue a decision to suspend the resolution of the case and not the Trial Panel."

Thus, at the trial (that is, the opening of the trial), the Trial panel is competent to issue a decision to suspend the resolution of the civil case if you withdraw the petition.

Above are the advice of FDVN Limited Law Firm base on studying law provisions and theories. We hope that our opinions would be useful.

Legal Expert: Nguyen Thi Suong

FDVN Law Company

CONTACT US

Lawyers in Da Nang:

99 Nguyen Huu Tho, Quan Hai Chau, Da Nang city

Lawyers in Hue:

336 Phan Chu Trinh, Hue City, Thua Thien Hue

Lawyers in Phu Quoc:

65 Hung Vuong, Duong Dong town, Phu Quoc island district

Lawyers in Quang Ngai:

359 Nguyen Du, Quang Ngai City, Quang Ngai Province.

Website: www.fdvn.vn www.tuvanphapluatdanang.com

Email: fdvnlawfirm@gmail.com luatsulecao@gmail.com

Phone: 0935 643 666 - 0906 499 446

Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/fdvnlawfirm/