Procedures For Settling Property Purchase And Sale Contract Disputes

In the realm of commerce, purchase and sale contracts serve as the cornerstones of transactions, creating a legally binding agreement between parties involved in buying and selling goods or services. These contracts provide a structured framework for the exchange of value, detailing the terms, conditions, and obligations of both parties. However, despite the meticulous drafting and intention to create a harmonious transaction, disputes can still arise, posing challenges that need to be resolved. Please contact immediately Apolo Lawyers Law Firm via email contact@apolo.com.vn or hotline - 0903.419.479 for legal advice and support.

1. What is a property sale and purchase contract?

The concept of a property sale and purchase contract is defined by the law in Clause 1, Article 430 of the Civil Code 2015: “A property sale and purchase contract is an agreement between the parties whereby the seller transfers the ownership of the property to the buyer. the buyer and the buyer pay the seller”.

Procedures For Settling Property Purchase And Sale Contract Disputes

2. Common property purchase and sale contract disputes

• Disputes caused by the seller failure to comply with the commitment on the property delivered to the buyer. There are acts of non-fulfillment of the seller commitment on the delivery of property, such as: the seller delivers later than agreed upon; delivery of property not in accordance with the type, quantity and quality as committed; cannot guarantee the time, place and method committed with the buyer; the seller assigns a third party to carry out the transportation, but it leads to problems with the quality of the property when it reaches the buyer; The seller does not perform the obligation when the buyer has completed the deposit…
• Disputes about the buyer breach of payment obligations. That is, when the buyer receives the property or when the payment is due under the agreed contract, the buyer fails to perform his/her obligations. This is considered the most important obligation of the buyer. This obligation also greatly affects the interests of the seller. Here the seller rights are being seriously violated.
• Disputes caused by the subjectivity of the parties in the establishment of the contract. Due to certain trust or nature, some contracts are only agreed orally. Therefore, when affected, it is difficult to prove the rights and obligations between the parties. From there, a dispute arose.

3. Competence to settle property purchase and sale contract disputes

According to the provisions of Point a, Clause 1, Article 35 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code, the district-level People Courts have jurisdiction to settle civil disputes specified in Article 26 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code (including: disputes over civil transactions and civil contracts), so the district-level People Courts have jurisdiction to settle property purchase and sale contract disputes.

However, for property purchase and sale contract disputes in which the involved parties or assets are located abroad or the judicial entrustment is required to the overseas representative agency of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, for Foreign competent courts and agencies are not under the jurisdiction of the district-level People Courts but under the jurisdiction of the provincial-level People Courts (based on Point c, Clause 1, Article 37 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). Civil Litigation 2015).

The jurisdiction of territorial courts to settle contractual disputes is determined as follows:

• The court where the defendant resides or works, if the defendant is an individual, or where the defendant is headquartered, if the defendant is an agency or organization, has the competence to settle according to first-instance procedures contract disputes over contracts. civil, commercial, and labor matters specified in Articles 26, 28, 30 and 32 of the Civil Procedure Code;
• The involved parties have the right to agree with each other in writing to request the Court where the plaintiff resides or works, if the plaintiff is an individual or the place where the plaintiff is headquartered, if the plaintiff is an agency or organization The organization to settle civil, business, commercial and labor disputes specified in Articles 26, 28, 30 and 32 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015.

4. Dossier to initiate a dispute over a property purchase and sale contract

To initiate a lawsuit against a property purchase and sale contract, the petitioner needs to prepare a dossier including the following documents:

• Petition (under form No. 23-DS issued together with resolution 01/2017/NQ-HDTP)
• Identity card/citizen identification/passport and household registration book of the petitioner being an individual; business registration/tax registration/charter of the petitioner being an organization (certified copy);
• Identity card/citizen identification/passport and household registration book of the defendant being an individual; business registration/tax registration/charter of the defendant being an organization (if any);
• Property purchase and sale contract, attached contract appendices, invoices, purchase and sale documents, money transfer documents... (certified copy);
• Documents and evidence related to the contractual relationship; the contract performance process and the performance/non-performance of contractual obligations by the parties;
• Documents and evidence proving the damage caused by the breach of contract;
• List of documents and evidences enclosed with the petition.

Preparing full documents helps the dispute resolution process to be faster.

Thus, the petition must be accompanied by documents and evidences proving that the lawful rights and interests of the petitioner have been infringed. If, for objective reasons, the plaintiff cannot submit all documents and evidences attached to the lawsuit petition, he/she must submit existing documents and evidences to prove the lawful rights and interests of the petitioner. violated. The plaintiff shall supplement or hand over other documents and evidences at the request of the court during the settlement of the case.

5. Procedures for settling property purchase and sale contract disputes

The procedure for resolving property sales contract disputes is relatively simple. The petitioner only needs to follow the following 4-step procedure:

5.1. File a lawsuit at the Court

According to Article 190 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code, the plaintiff sends a lawsuit petition, enclosed with documents and evidences that he currently has, to a court competent to handle the case by the following methods:

• Filed directly at the Court;
• Send to the Court by postal service;
• Submit online electronically via the Court Portal (if any).

5.2. Accept the case

After receiving the lawsuit petition, the Court must consider necessary documents and evidences. If it is deemed within its competence, the Court will notify the involved parties so that the involved parties can pay the court fee advance.

Within 07 days from the date of receiving the notice, the involved parties must pay the court fee advance. After paying the court cost advance, the involved parties shall return the receipt of the court fee advance to the Court. The court accepts the civil matter or civil case from the date of receipt of this receipt. (Based on Article 195 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015).

5.3. Prepare for trial

Article 203 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code stipulates the time limit for trial preparation of cases as follows:

• 04 months from the date of acceptance of the case. For complicated cases or with objective obstacles, the chief justice of the court may decide to extend the time limit for trial preparation once but for no more than 2 months.
• In case there is a decision to temporarily suspend the settlement of the case, the time limit for trial preparation shall be recalculated from the date on which the court decision to continue the settlement of the case takes legal effect.

During the trial preparation stage, the judge assigned to handle the case must take testimonies of the involved parties, conduct meetings to check the handover, access and publicize evidences and conciliate, conduct conducting on-site review, appraisal or valuation, entrusting evidence collection (if any).

5.4. Bring the case to first instance trial

Pursuant to the provisions of Chapter XX, XXI of the Civil Procedure Code 2015, then:

Within 01 month from the date of issuance of the decision to bring the case to trial, the court must open a court session; in case there is a plausible reason, the time limit for opening a court hearing may be extended but must not exceed 30 days.

If the judgment of the first-instance court is appealed or protested against, the immediate superior court shall consider and settle it according to appellate procedures. Accordingly, the appellate court shall re-trial the case in which the judgment or decision of the first-instance court which has not yet taken legal effect is appealed or protested against. The involved parties or their lawful representatives have the right to appeal against the first-instance court judgment or decision to suspend or terminate the settlement of the case to request the appellate court to re-settle it according to the procedures. appellate procedure.

In addition, the case may also be reviewed according to cassation or reopening procedures:

• Cassation is a procedure that is conducted only when legally effective judgments or decisions are protested against by competent subjects in accordance with law. In case involved parties disagree with legally effective judgments or decisions, they may only request competent persons to protest against effective judgments or decisions according to cassation procedures.
• Re-trial is the review of a legally effective judgment or decision but is protested against because there are newly discovered circumstances that may fundamentally change the content of the judgment or decision that the court or involved parties do not know when the Court issues that judgment or decision. In cases where involved parties disagree with legally effective judgments or decisions, they may only request competent persons to protest against effective judgments or decisions according to reopening procedures.

​Procedures For Settling Property Purchase And Sale Contract Disputes

Purchase and sale contract disputes can disrupt the flow of commerce and strain relationships between parties. While disagreements are almost inevitable, approaching them with clear communication, a commitment to finding common ground, and an understanding of legal options can lead to effective resolution. By adhering to well-drafted contracts and preventive measures, parties can mitigate the risk of disputes and ensure smoother transactions in the complex world of commerce. Please feel free to contact Apolo Lawyers Law Firm via email contact@apolo.com.vn or hotline - 0903.419.479 for legal advice and support.

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