Is it required to register the ad hoc arbitration awards? How can this registration be done?

Legal question: My company signed a sale of goods contract with a partner. During the contract implementation process, a dispute arose regarding the quality of goods and was resolved by the ad hoc arbitration council according to the agreement of the parties. Please tell me whether registration of the ad hoc arbitration award is mandatory and how do we carry out this registration?

Response:

Thank you for sending your question to FDVN Law Firm (FDVN). Regarding your consulting requests, after studying the relevant legal regulations, would like to provide you with some information as follows:

Ad hoc arbitration is a form of dispute settlement according to the Law on Commercial Arbitration 2010  with the order and procedures agreed by the parties. The arbitration award is final and takes effect from the date of issuance according to the provisions of Clause 5, Article 61 of the Law on Commercial Arbitration 2010.

Regarding the registration of ad hoc arbitration awards, Clause 1, Article 62 of the 2010 Commercial Arbitration Law stipulates as follows:

“At the request of one disputing party or all disputing parties, an award of ad hoc arbitration shall be registered at the court in the place in which the arbitration council issued the award before requesting a competent civil judgment enforcement agency to organize enforcement of such award. Registration or non-registration of an arbitral award does not affect the contents and legal validity of the award”.

Therefore, the registration of an ad hoc arbitration award is entirely based on the request of one party or both parties, and is not mandatory. At the same time, the fact that the ad hoc arbitration award is not registered does not affect the legal value of the award, which means that award can still be enforced.

Regarding procedures for registering ad hoc arbitration awards, Clauses 2 and 3, Article 62 of the 2010 Commercial Arbitration Law provide as follows:

“ 2. Within 1 year after an arbitral award is issued, the party requesting registration of an award of ad hoc arbitration shall file an application for such registration to the competent court defined in Clause 1 of this Article, enclosed with originals or true copies of the following documents:

a/ Arbitral award issued by the ad hoc arbitration council:

b/ Minutes of the ad hoc arbitration council’s dispute settlement meeting, if any;

c/ Original or certified copy of the arbitration agreement.

The requester shall take responsibility for the truthfulness of the documents sent to the court.

3. Within 5 working days after receiving an application for award registration, the court president shall assign a judge to consider such application. Within 10 days after being assigned, such judge shall examine the truthfulness of the documents enclosed with the application and make registration. If identifying that the arbitral award is untrue, the judge shall refuse to make registration, return the application and enclosed documents and immediately notify such to the requester clearly slating the reason. Within 3 working days after receiving the court’s notice, the requester may lodge a complaint with the court president about the refusal to make registration. Within 3 working days after receiving the complaint, the court president shall consider and issue a decision settling the complaint. The court president’s dispute settlement decision is final. “

In case there is evidence that the cancellation or the arbitral award is being considered at a competent court, when receiving the request for registration of the arbitral award, the court will delay undertaking the request pending the decision on arbitral award cancellation according to Clause 1, Article 13 of Resolution No. 01/2014/NQ-HDTP guiding the implementation of a number of provisions of the commercial arbitration law.

Above is FDVN’s advice regarding your consulting request based on relevant legal regulations. Hopefully this information will be useful to you.

Dang Vu Duc – FDVN Law Firm

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