In details

1. Fundamental restructuring of the judicial system

Under the Draft Law, Vietnam's People's Court system will undergo a major reorganization, eliminating two existing court levels and introducing a new one:

• Abolition of the High People's Courts: These courts, previously responsible for appellate and cassation/retrial review, will be dissolved. Their functions will be redistributed to other court levels.
• Abolition of district-level People's Courts: All 693 district-level courts will be dissolved. Their responsibilities will be transferred to newly created regional-level courts.
• Establishment of regional-level People's Courts: A total of 355 regional-level courts will be established across 34 provinces and cities. These courts will assume the first-instance jurisdiction previously held by district-level courts.
• Consolidation of provincial-level People's Courts: The number of provincial-level courts will be reduced from 63 to 34, in line with the administrative consolidation of provinces.
• New court structure: The restructured People's Court system will consist of the following:
  • The Supreme People's Court
  • Provincial-level People's Courts
  • Regional-level People's Courts

2. Significant shifts in court jurisdiction

A core component of the judicial reform is the redistribution of judicial powers across court levels:

• Supreme People's Court
  • Now explicitly granted appellate jurisdiction over criminal cases where first-instance judgments issued by provincial-level courts have not yet taken legal effect
  • New Appellate Courts will be established under the Supreme People's Court to assume appellate functions previously handled by the dissolved High People's Courts. These courts may also initiate cassation or retrial proceedings for their own decisions or those of provincial-level courts.
• Provincial-level People's Courts
  • Granted cassation and retrial jurisdiction over effective judgments and decisions issued by regional-level courts
  • Retain first-instance jurisdiction over serious criminal cases involving penalties of over 20 years' imprisonment, life imprisonment or the death penalty
  • Currently responsible for appellate review of cases from regional-level courts that have not yet taken legal effect
  • Chief Judges will report on the operations of both provincial and regional courts within their jurisdiction to the Provincial People's Council and the Chief Judge of the Supreme People's Court.
• Regional-level People's Courts
  • Assume first-instance jurisdiction over criminal, administrative, civil and other matters, replacing the dissolved district-level courts
  • Having specialized courts under certain regional-level courts, including the following:
    • Bankruptcy courts (in Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City)
    • Intellectual Property courts (in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City)
    • Economic courts (in Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City), which will also have jurisdiction over requests to annul commercial arbitration awards
  • Chief Judges will report to the Chief Judge of the respective provincial-level People's Court.

3. Impacts on parties involved in pending court cases (transitional provisions)

The Draft Law includes transitional provisions to ensure a smooth shift in jurisdiction for ongoing cases.

• Cases from dissolved district-level People's Courts: All pending criminal, administrative, civil and other cases previously handled by district-level courts will be transferred to the regional-level People's Courts with appropriate territorial jurisdiction.
• Cases from dissolved High People's Courts: The newly established Appellate Courts under the Supreme People's Court will assume responsibility for appellate reviews and cassation/retrial proceedings previously managed by the High People's Courts.
• Cassation/re-trial of former district court judgments: Provincial-level People's Courts will now handle cassation and retrial requests for effective judgments and decisions issued by former district-level courts that were not yet reviewed by the High People's Courts.
• Pending first-instance case at the provincial-level People's Court:
  • If a provincial-level court received a petition or request for a case that now falls under the jurisdiction of a regional-level court but had not yet formally accepted the case ("thụ lý vụ án" in Vietnamese), it must transfer the file to the competent regional-level court.
  • If the court had already formally accepted the case before the Draft Law takes effect, it will retain jurisdiction and continue to resolve it.
• Supreme People's Court's cassation/re-trial cases: The Supreme People's Court will take over cassation review and retrial responsibilities for effective judgments and decisions of provincial-level courts that were previously under the jurisdiction of the High People's Courts.

In conclusion

The restructuring of the court system reflects the government's efforts to streamline judicial operations, enhance judicial independence, and potentially accelerate case resolution. The Draft Law has not been adopted yet and may be subject to further updates.

We will continue to monitor the implementation of the restructuring and keep you informed of any developments. If you would like to further discuss the potential impact of the Draft Law, please don't hesitate to contact us using the details provided in this alert.