VCI Legal – 29 September 2025

Vietnam is in the midst of one of the most significant judicial reforms in decades, aimed at enhancing modernization, transparency, and efficiency. At the core of these reforms are three pillars: the restructuring of the court system, the establishment of e-Courts, and the gradual adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in judicial activities. Together, these developments address both the domestic need for more effective dispute resolution and Vietnam’s alignment with international standards of justice in the digital era.

For lawyers and their clients, the changes will have far-reaching implications, reshaping litigation strategies, dispute management, and compliance with procedural rules.

1. Reform of the Court System

On 24 June 2025, the 15th National Assembly passed Law No. 81/2025/QH15, amending and supplementing the Law on the Organization of the People’s Courts (the “Amended Law”). This legislation represents a structural shift in how Vietnam’s judiciary is organized and operated.

The current four-tier structure—comprising the Supreme People’s Court, High People’s Courts, Provincial People’s Courts, and District People’s Courts—will be restructured into a three-tier system:

• Supreme People’s Court: Three appellate courts will be established in Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City. The number of Supreme Court judges will increase from 13–17 to 23–27 to absorb cassation and retrial cases previously handled by the High People’s Courts.
• Provincial People’s Courts: These will include a Judicial Committee, specialized divisions (Criminal, Civil, Administrative, Economic, Labor, and Family & Juvenile), and supporting administrative units.
• Regional People’s Courts: Newly created to replace district courts, these will include specialized divisions (Criminal, Civil, Economic, Administrative, Family & Juvenile, and in some regions, Bankruptcy and Intellectual Property).
• Specialized court in International Financial Center: Additionally, specialized courts will be established within Vietnam’s International Financial Center, with jurisdiction, procedures, language, applicable law, and judge appointments to be determined by the National Assembly.

This reorganization reflects Vietnam’s commitment to streamlining judicial operations and responding to the increasingly complex demands of economic and cross-border disputes.

Impact of Court System Restructuring on Litigation 

The ongoing restructuring of Vietnam’s court system is expected to cause procedural disruptions, including potential delays in the resolution of pending cases. In some instances, parties may even be required to amend and refile their petitions due to changes in court organization, the reassignment of judges, and the reallocation of jurisdiction following the merger of administrative units and the reorganization of judicial bodies. 

Given these developments, it is essential for litigants and counsel to closely monitor the status of their cases, maintain regular communication with the court, and promptly revise pleadings or submissions as required. Active engagement with the court is particularly important in the current environment, where a substantial backlog of cases remains unresolved. 

From our practical experience, timely and consistent follow-up with the court can materially improve the prospects of expeditious case management—often resulting in priority handling compared to other matters pending in the system.

2. E-Courts: Digitization and Accessibility

Pursuant to Resolution No. 66-NQ/TW of the Politburo, dated 30 April 2025, on reforming lawmaking and law enforcement, People’s Court Regional 1 in Ho Chi Minh City has become the pilot site for Vietnam’s e-Court initiative. 

The e-Court platform enables citizens, lawyers, and judges to access, review, and store complete case files on a secure internal system. 

• E-filing: Litigants receive a personal access account, verified by biometrics and the national ID card. Through this account, parties can track case acceptance, assigned judges, and outstanding document requirements—eliminating the need for repeated in-person visits. 

• Document authentication: Every court-issued document now bears a QR code, which can be verified at designated terminals. 

• Case assignment: Once digitized, case files are uploaded to a centralized database and randomly assigned to judges. Access is restricted to assigned judges only, with automated notifications sent to parties. 

The practical benefits are substantial: 

• A worker in Đong Nai can file for divorce online without missing workdays. 

• A company in Da Nang can submit documents to Ho Chi Minh City without notarization or postal delays. 

• A client in Canada can monitor an inheritance dispute in Vietnam without boarding a plane. 

The system also enhances case management and courtroom efficiency: 

• Judges, clerks, and staff can process and digitally sign documents within the platform, avoiding duplication or inconsistencies. 

• Court leaders monitor performance through a real-time dashboard, preventing backlogs and ensuring accountability—even remotely. 

• Data sharing with the Procuracy, higher-level courts, and attorneys is instantaneous, removing the need for printing or photocopying. 

• In e-hearings, evidence is preloaded and displayed in court, with participants accessing documents on secure tablets that allow annotation, comparison, and highlighting. Clerks control the display to ensure only materials approved by the trial panel appear publicly.

3. AI Support for Judges in Legal Research and Judgment Rendering

Complementing the e-Court platform, People’s Court Regional 1 has also piloted an internal AI tool designed to support judges in case analysis and decision-making. 

• Judges can use voice commands to search case files, generate summaries, and retrieve relevant legal provisions in seconds. 

• Instead of manually reviewing thousands of pages, judges and clerks can query the system by keyword. The AI automatically extracts and analyzes relevant sections, with confidential data redacted as required by law. 

• During hearings, voice-activated search allows hands-free commands—critical where speed and precision are essential. 

• The AI can also suggest legal grounds and potential outcomes, drawing from statutes and precedent cases to aid more comprehensive, consistent judgments. 

Unlike commercial platforms such as ChatGPT or DeepSeek, this AI is deployed entirely on the court’s internal servers, ensuring that sensitive data remains localized with no risk of leakage. The system can process not only text documents but also multimedia evidence—including scanned files, images, and video—without the size constraints common to external AI models.  

4. Transformative Impact

The pilot implementation of e-Courts and AI at People’s Court Regional 1 has been met with strong approval from judges, lawyers, and litigants. The model is expected to expand nationwide in the near future, with the potential to transform Vietnam’s judicial landscape. It will not only change how judges and lawyers practice their profession but also transform how the entire court system functions in the age of AI and big data. 

If you have any questions, concerns, or are involved in a dispute, please do not hesitate to contact our experienced litigation lawyers for tailored advice and dedicated support 

About VCI Legal:

VCI Legal is an award-winning business law firm in Vietnam with a wide range of legal and corporate services, among other things, corporate, banking & finance, tax, labor & HR, real estate and dispute resolution with special focus on international investment disputes, We also offer our specialized type of service called “In-House Counsel Service” with the aim of assisting our clients in dealing with all types of internal and external issues arising from their day-to-day operations and business activities. With our offices in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, we have a tremendous depth of experience in providing well-reasoned and comprehensive legal advice to not only multinationals and Fortune 500 companies, but also small and medium enterprises.

Our professional team comprises one of the leading law firms in Vietnam with service quality highly recommended and acknowledged by international legal service reviewers such as: The Legal 500, AsiaLaw Profiles, IFLR, KPMG’s Tax Directors’ Handbook, Acquisition International, ACQ Global, Global Law Experts, Finance Monthly, and Chambers & Partners.

For many years, VCI Legal has been ranked among the top law firms in Vietnam for corporate, finance, insurance, taxation, employment, intellectual property and investment. With a “Can Do Attitude” combined with a “Know How” capacity, our firm is big enough to provide comprehensive legal support for any in-house legal matters, yet small enough to care about each of our clients. We undertake each engagement with the mindset of a long-term relationship, with the will to give whatever it takes to understand and fulfill your needs.

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