Decision 11/2019/QD-PQTT: The Hanoi Court's Setting Aside of a Vietnamese Arbitral Award

On 14 November 2019, the People’s Court of Hanoi passed Decision 11/2019/QD-PQTT to set aside an arbitral award under Vietnam’s Law on Commercial Arbitration 2010. The setting aside was based on three grounds:

1. The tribunal's decision to change the location of the hearing venue, which was a departure from the parties' original agreement reached during the arbitration;
2. The tribunal's reliance on the IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence with regard to the Respondent's witness evidence; and
3. The tribunal's failure to embark on its own assessment of the quantum of damages, instead relying solely on the Claimants' expert evidence.

This decision is a departure from the court's recent strong track record in upholding the enforceability of Vietnamese awards, particularly those rendered under the Arbitration Rules of the Vietnam International Arbitration Centre.

New Decree against Spam

On 14 August 2020, the Government issued Decree No. 91/2020/ND-CP on anti-spam text messages, emails and calls ("Decree 91"). Decree 91 will take effect from 1 October 2020 and replace Decree No. 90/2008/ND-CP against spam ("Decree 90"). Unlike its predecessor, Decree 91 now explicitly captures phone calls within the scope of spam.