REPORT
Results of the Meeting with the Delegation from the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of France
Following the assignment from the Ministry's leadership, on November 26, 2025, the International Law Department (IWD) met with the Delegation from the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of France to discuss the situation of mutual legal assistance in civil matters between Vietnam and France. The IWD would like to report the results to the Minister and Deputy Minister as follows:
I. Time, Location and Participants
Working program for one morning on November 26, 2025
- Location: Ministry of Justice Headquarters
- Ministry of Justice of Vietnam: Ms. Lai Thi Van Anh – Deputy Director of the IWD, chaired. Ministry of Justice of France: Ms. Valérie Delnaud - Director General of the Department of Civil Affairs and Seals – Head of Delegation.
(Please find attached the list of participants from both Ministries)
II. Discussion Content
1. Regarding obstacles and difficulties in implementing the Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance in Civil Matters between the two countries
In November 2023, the two focal units responsible for implementing the Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance in Civil Matters between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Republic of France (the Agreement) held a bilateral meeting at the Ministry of Justice of Vietnam to exchange views on the implementation of the Agreement. At the meeting, both sides provided information and discussed solutions to the limitations, obstacles, and difficulties in implementing requests for mutual legal assistance based on the Agreement and the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters (the Service Convention), to which both countries are signatories. However, after two years, some issues, mainly from the French side, have not yet been completely resolved.
Representatives from the Department of International Law presented the following existing obstacles and difficulties in the work of civil dispute resolution:
- The success rate of civil dispute resolution requests from Vietnam to France is very low, and the processing time is long;
- Postage costs for sending civil dispute resolution requests from Vietnam to France are high;
- Many civil dispute resolution requests from French bailiff offices sent to Vietnam do not meet the requirements (missing documents, missing translations, incomplete addresses), and the files lack information about the sending office, making it impossible for the Vietnamese Ministry of Justice to contact them to request additional documents, resulting in costly returns and wasted time.
- Regarding civil dispute resolution requests from Vietnam to France, the representative from the French Ministry of Justice suggested that requests for document service and evidence collection should be handled separately for each request. In addition, Ms. Valérie Delnaud stated that the French focal point for implementing the Agreement changed in September 2024, and no replacement has yet been appointed, which has created certain difficulties in monitoring Vietnam's requests for the easing of civil disputes.
2. Proposed Solutions to Overcome Difficulties
Both sides acknowledge the importance of civil service agreements in protecting the rights and interests of businesses and individuals in both countries. Therefore, to enhance the effectiveness of the implementation of the Agreement and Convention on Service of Service, the International Law Department has proposed several solutions:
- Both sides will establish a direct communication channel and designate focal points to exchange information on specific issues when they arise and encounter difficulties. The implementation of requests will be reviewed every six months.
- Accepting the sending of civil service agreement documents via email by the focal point will not incur any cost to Vietnam.
- Regarding civil service agreement documents sent from Vietnam to France, the Vietnamese Ministry of Justice will require the courts to create separate files for each request.
Regarding the solutions proposed by the Department of International Law, the French Ministry of Justice has suggested:
- Immediately after the meeting, the Director of the Department of Civil Affairs and Seals – the unit responsible for civil settlement of the French Ministry of Justice – will designate a focal point and inform the Department of International Law through the French Embassy or Ms. Caroline Charpentier.
- The judge in charge of Southeast Asian regional cooperation.
- The two units of the two Ministries will hold an online meeting in December to review the civil settlement requests, directly discuss any difficulties, and agree on a coordination method. Regular exchanges will take place every six months.
- After the civil settlement requests are sent by mail, the Vietnamese focal point will send a soft copy of the documents to the French focal point for monitoring and verification of receipt. - The French Ministry of Justice will work with the French Council of Bailiffs to discuss existing issues in the civil and commercial arbitration work of bailiff offices, and will also send written notices to these offices to remind them of the importance of civil and commercial arbitration requests sent to Vietnam.
Both sides agreed to coordinate the implementation of further cooperation activities as proposed by the French Ministry of Justice.
In addition to the above discussions, the International Law Department also raised the issue of France's acceptance of Vietnam's accession to the Hague Convention on the Collection of Evidence Abroad (the Evidence Collection Convention) to provide a more legal basis for resolving civil and commercial arbitration requests between the two countries. Ms. Valérie Delnaud stated that France has not yet accepted Vietnam's accession to the Evidence Collection Convention because it believes the Agreement already provides sufficient grounds for resolving civil and commercial arbitration requests, and that implementing such requests on the basis of the Agreement is more effective than the Convention. Nevertheless, Valérie Delnaud also pledged that France would consider the proposal and that the two sides could have further discussions at the online meeting in December 2025.
III. Evaluation and Recommendations
The initial results of the working session have outlined directions for resolving the remaining obstacles in the International Cooperation Agreement with France. Based on the results of the working session and the unit's functions and duties, the International Law Department respectfully recommends that the Ministry's leadership assign the International Law Department:
- Maintain close contact with the focal point of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of France to implement the agreed contents;
- Chair and coordinate with the International Cooperation Department and the Ministry's Office to organize an online meeting with the focal point of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of France after agreeing on the time with the French side.
The above is the report of the International Law Department on the results of the working session with the Delegation of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of France. The International Law Department respectfully submits this to the Minister and Deputy Minister for consideration and guidance./.