DISTINGUISH BETWEEN SERVICE ACTIVITIES IN BAILIFFS AND DELIVERY NOTICES SENT TO LITIGANTS

Criteria

Service

Delivery notices sent to litigants

Nature

Is the process in which a person conveys official information and documents from a legal or competent authority (Courts, People's Procuracy, civil judgment enforcement agencies, competent foreign agencies. Article 171, Civil Procedure Code 2015) to the parties involved in the case, based on the provisions of law. The work is performed by the bailiffs.

- The transfer of documents and papers performed by the agency conducting the proceedings is legally an official delivery activity and is mandatory for the recipient, and the recipient of the document must be responsible for compliance, regardless of the subjective will of the recipient of the served document.

For example: Mr. A is a litigant in a civil case, District Court B serves Mr. A a summons to attend the trial on March 29, 2024. Mr. A is obliged to attend the trial at the above scheduled time.

This is the official notification and reporting process that legal agencies (Courts, Procuracy, and judgment enforcement agencies specified in Article 171, Civil Procedure Code 2015) service to relevant parties or defendants in the case via public communication channels or express delivery services.  Typically, notices sent to litigants in the case include information related to the decisions and conclusions of the legal authorities, as well as requests for the parties to provide their opinions and carry out necessary measures as prescribed.

- Unlike serving activities, notification of civil procedural documents is legally intended to help litigants realize that civil procedural documents have been issued publicly with certain content or a certain procedural activity. That is about to be carried out for the subjects to know and participate in, regardless of the will of the informed subjects. The subjects making the notification are the agencies conducting the proceedings including the Court, the Procuracy, the civil enforcement agency and the bailiff organization. Subjects of notification are procedural documents arising in the process of resolving civil cases and enforcing civil judgments.

For example: For the Notice of Article 196 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015 Civil Procedure Code, within 03 working days from the date of acceptance of the case, the Judge must notify the plaintiff in writing. Applications, agencies, organizations, and individuals with rights and obligations related to the resolution of the case, to the Procuracy at the same level about the Court's acceptance of the case.

Forms of carrying out

The issuance, delivery, and notification of procedural documents are carried out through the methods specified in Article 173 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code, as follows:

• Issuance, delivery, and notification can be done directly, through postal services, or through authorized third parties.
• Issuance, delivery, and notification can be done electronically, as required by the parties or other participants in the proceedings, in accordance with the provisions of the law on electronic transactions.
• Public posting.
• Notification through public media channels.

For parties residing abroad, the court carries out the delivery and notification of procedural documents in one of the following ways:

• In accordance with international conventions of which Vietnam is a member.
• Through diplomatic channels for parties residing in a country that is not a member of the international convention along with Vietnam.
• Through postal services to the address of the party residing abroad, provided that the laws of that country agree to this method.
• Through postal services to the representative office of Vietnam in the foreign country, if the party is a Vietnamese citizen residing abroad.
• For foreign agencies or organizations with representative offices or branches in Vietnam, delivery can be made through their representative offices or branches in Vietnam.
• Through postal services for legal representatives or authorized representatives in Vietnam of the party residing abroad.

If the aforementioned methods of delivery and notification do not yield results, the court will proceed with public posting at the representative office of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the foreign country where the court is handling the case, or at the last known residence of the party in Vietnam within a period of one month. The court will also make the announcement on its electronic portal (if available) and the electronic portal of the representative office of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the foreign country. If necessary, the court may also notify through the dedicated channel for foreigners of the central radio or television station three times consecutively within three days.

Cases of usage 

According to Article 171 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code, the following procedural documents must be issued, served, and notified:

• Notices, summonses, invitations in civil proceedings.
• Judgments, decisions of the Court.
• Appeals decisions of the Public Prosecutor's Office; documents from agencies responsible for the enforcement of civil judgments.

Other procedural documents as prescribed by law.

Characteristics

Currently, there are no specific legal regulations on the characteristics of send, however, it can be understood according to the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law and Clause 2, Article 2 of Decree 135/2013/ND-CP as follows:

+ Service is carried out on the basis of authorization from the Court and the enforcement agency through a written agreement called a contract;

+ Court and judgment enforcement agencies such as invitations, summons, judgments, decisions... but not all types of documents of these agencies;

+ Service can only be carried out within a certain scope and time, and must strictly comply with regulations on civil proceedings and judgment enforcement.

Currently, there are no specific legal regulations on the characteristics of notices sent to litigants, however, it can be understood:

+ The service of process (notification) sent to the litigants is carried out on the basis of the obligations of the Court, the Procuracy, and the judgment enforcement agency (Article 171, Civil Procedure Code 2015).

+ The notification must be made within a certain time (3 working days) from the date of issuance of the document, except in cases where it is necessary to prevent the dispersal, destruction of property, or evasion of judgment execution according (Article 196, Civil Procedure Code 2015).

Entities are responsible for serving, and notifying procedural documents

According to Article 172 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code, the following entities are responsible for issuing, serving, and notifying procedural documents:

• The party initiating the proceedings, or the person authorized by the issuing authority, is responsible for issuing, serving, and notifying the procedural documents.
• The commune-level People's Committee where the civil litigant resides, or the organization or institution where the civil litigant works, shall perform these tasks upon request by the Court.
• The party, the representative of the party, or the person safeguarding the legal rights and interests of the party in cases specified by this Code.
• Postal service personnel.
• Persons designated to perform service of process.
• Other persons as prescribed by law.

Liability

The legal liability of service activities is determined by the specific actions involved. If there is a failure to properly carry out these services in civil or administrative proceedings, there are legal consequences as stipulated by the law. Specifically, according to Article 19 of Ordinance 02/2022/UBTVQH15, individuals or entities involved in service activities can be subject to punishment in accordance with the provisions of the law.

The legal liability of the delivery notices provider in delivering information to the litigant is determined by various factors. These factors include the content of the information being released, the verification of the information prior to its release, ensuring the accuracy of the information, and compliance with relevant legal regulations. In accordance with Article 19 of Ordinance 02/2022/UBTVQH15, the delivery notices provider can be held legally responsible for any shortcomings or violations related to these factors. Therefore, it is essential for the delivery notices provider to exercise due diligence in handling and delivering information to the litigant in order to fulfill their legal responsibilities.

Purpose 

Aiming at judicial support activities, contributing to reducing the amount of work. This helps improve the efficiency of trials and judgment enforcement in practice.

This aims to ensure transparency and fairness in the process of resolving legal disputes.