Providing and proving evidence is considered one of the basic principles of civil proceedings. This means that it is both the right and responsibility of the involved parties to provide evidence. If you file a request asking the court to protect your legal rights or interests, you must actively collect and submit documents and evidence to the court. Whether the court’s judgment or decision is accurate and lawful largely depends on how properly and objectively the evidence is collected, reviewed, and used. In many civil cases, trials are delayed or even canceled because the parties fail to submit valid evidence, or the evidence is rejected due to violations in the way it was collected.
In the article below, BLawyers Vietnam briefly presents 04 key points about evidence in civil proceedings under Vietnamese law.
1. Who is responsible for providing evidence
The person who requests the court to protect their legal rights and interests must collect, provide, and submit documents and evidence to the court to prove that their request is reasonable and lawful.
However, to align with other laws and practical realities, the Civil Procedure Code 2015 (“CPC 2015“) includes certain cases where a party makes a request but is not required to provide proof. These include the following situations:
- When a consumer files a lawsuit, they are not required to prove the fault of the business or individual that provides goods or services;
- In labor disputes, if the employee cannot provide or submit documents or evidence to the court because they are being held by the employer, then the employer is responsible for providing and submitting those documents or evidence to the court; or
- When an employee files a lawsuit related to unlawful unilateral termination of the labor contract, such as cases where the employer is not allowed to unilaterally terminate the contract or is not permitted to discipline the employee under labor laws, the burden of proof lies with the employer.
2. Process, procedure, and methods for providing and submitting evidence
The submission of evidence is regulated as follows:
- The parties have the right and obligation to submit documents and evidence to the court. If the submitted materials are incomplete, the judge may request additional evidence. If the party fails to provide the additional evidence within the given time without a valid reason, the court will proceed based on the available evidence.
- When submitting documents and evidence to the court, a written record must be made. This record must clearly state the details of the documents, the number of copies, the number of pages, the time of receipt, the signatures of the person submitting and the person receiving, and the court’s official stamp. Two copies of the record are made: one kept in the case file and one given to the party submitting the evidence.
- If a party submits documents or evidence to the court in an ethnic minority language or a foreign language, it must be accompanied by a legally notarized or certified Vietnamese translation.
- When a party submits documents or evidence to the court, they must send copies of those documents or evidence to the other party or the other party’s legal representative. For documents or evidence that, by regulation or nature, cannot be copied and sent, a written notice must be given to the other party or their legal representative.
3. Deadlines for providing and submitting evidence
Deadlines for providing and submitting evidence are a very important aspect of civil procedure law. The deadlines for providing and submitting evidence are regulated as follows:
The deadline for submitting documents and evidence is set by the judge assigned to handle the case, but must not exceed the preparation time for trial according to the first-instance procedure and the preparation time for resolving the civil case as prescribed by law.
The judge’s authority to set deadlines for submitting evidence is a progressive feature of Vietnam’s civil procedure law. This rule holds parties more accountable for providing evidence, preventing them from abusing the right to submit evidence at any time to delay the lawsuit. It also helps avoid difficulties for the trial court and reduces cases being overturned at higher levels due to new evidence being presented.
4. Legal consequences when a party fails to fulfill or properly perform their obligation to provide evidence
Compared to the previous Civil Procedure Code, Clause 1, Article 96 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015 has introduced important changes, clarifying the rights and obligations of parties to provide evidence, while also expanding the scope of these obligations and the legal consequences of failing to fulfill them properly. According to the regulations, evidence must be submitted right from the start of the lawsuit. If the evidence is incomplete or insufficient to resolve the case, the judge may request the parties to supplement it. This rule allows parties to complete their evidence after receiving guidance from the court, helping ensure the case is resolved fairly and thoroughly.
A notable new point is that if a party fails to submit or submits incomplete documents and evidence as required without a valid reason, the court will base its decision on the evidence already available. This clearly reflects the party’s responsibility to prove their case and the legal consequences of failing to properly fulfill this obligation, which may lead to unfavorable outcomes during the trial.
The above is not official advice from BLawyers Vietnam. If you have any questions or suggestions about the above, please contact us at info@blawyersvn.com. BLawyers Vietnam would love to hear from you.
Date: 18 June 2025
Writer: Chau Tran
