Question:
Our company has entered into an electronic contract with a customer. Could you advise us on whether we might face any difficulties when presenting this contract to the court in case of a dispute? Will the court accept electronically signed documents for case filing?
Reply:
The Vietnamese courts may accept electronically signed contracts as vidence during the case resolution process
According to Article 3.16 of the 2023 Law on Electronic Transations, an electronic contract is a contract established in the form of a data message.
According to Article 94.1 and 94.8 of the 2015 Civil legal proceeding, evidence may be collected from the following sources:
(i) Readable, audible, and visible documents, as well as electronic data; and
(ii) Documents recording legal events and acts, made by persons with authority.
According to Article 95.3 and 95.9 of the 2015 Civil legal proceeding, evidence may be collected from the following sources:
(i) Electronic data messages are expressed in the form of electronic data exchanges, electronic vouchers, emails, telegrams, telexes, faxes, and other similar forms as prescribed by the law on electronic transactions. Under Article 11 of the 2023 Law on Electronic Transactions, the evidentiary value of a data message is determined based on the reliability of the method of creating, sending, receiving, or storing the data message; the method ensuring and maintaining the integrity of the data message; the method of identifying the creator, sender, and recipient of the data message, and other relevant factors.
(ii) A document recording legal events and acts, made by persons with authority at the scene , is considered evidence if the drafting of such a document is carried out in accordance with the procedures prescribed by law
According to Article 2.3 of Decree 08/2020/ND-CP, a "vi bằng" is a document recording actual events and acts directly witnessed by a bailiff, made at the request of an individual, agency, or organization as prescribed by this Decree.
So, to summarize, for an electronic contract to be accepted by the court as evidence in dispute resolution, the company may prove its legality through one of the following forms:
(i) Providing a basis and grounds to determine the method of creating, sending, receiving, or storing the data message; the method of ensuring and maintaining the integrity of the data message; the method of identifying the creator, sender, and recipient of the data message, and other relevant factors of the electronic contract. This can be demonstrated through the electronic contract software system provided by the service provider;
(ii) Preparing a bailiff's report to record that the electronic contract was validly signed by the company and the customer.
