The short answer
The CPTPP binds eleven economies: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. For investors it does three things. It opens Vietnamese services and investment sectors on a negative list, so every sector is open unless expressly reserved. It guarantees national treatment, most-favoured-nation treatment, fair and equitable treatment, protection against uncompensated expropriation, and free transfer of capital and profits. And it channels disputes to international arbitration rather than domestic administrative bodies. The practical question is the last one: if you win an award abroad, will a Vietnamese court enforce it? The answer is yes, but only if service of process was correct.
Market access under the negative list
Unlike older agreements that listed the sectors you were allowed into, the CPTPP opens everything except what is reserved in Annex I and Annex II. In Vietnam that has widened access in logistics, maritime transport, telecommunications, financial services, environmental services, construction, engineering, education and business consulting.
Vietnamese law carries the same principle domestically. Article 5, Clauses 1 and 2 of Law No. 61/2020/QH14 on Investment:
1. Investors have the right to conduct business and investment activities in sectors and trades that are not prohibited by this Law. 2. Investors may self-determine and decide on business and investment activities in accordance with the provisions of this Law and other relevant laws; are entitled to access and use credit capital sources, assistance funds, and use land and other resources in accordance with law.
In plain terms, a foreign investor may set up and operate in any sector that is not on a prohibition list, and may access credit, land and State support on the same footing.
Two dispute tracks, and which one you will actually use
Chapter 9 of the CPTPP gives an investor a direct claim against the host State through ICSID or UNCITRAL arbitration when the State breaches a treaty obligation. That is Investor-State Dispute Settlement, and it is rare.
What you will actually use is ordinary commercial arbitration against your Vietnamese counterparty, seated at SIAC, the LCIA, VIAC or elsewhere. The award is then taken to a Vietnamese court for recognition and enforcement.
How recognition works, and the three-year clock
Vietnam is a party to the 1958 New York Convention. Every CPTPP member is too, so awards from Singapore, Japan, Canada or Australia qualify automatically.
Article 424, Clause 1 of Law No. 92/2015/QH14 on Civil Procedure:
Foreign arbitral awards shall be considered for recognition and enforcement in Vietnam in the following cases: (a) Foreign arbitral awards rendered in countries that, together with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, are contracting parties to international treaties on the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards; (b) Foreign arbitral awards not falling under Point a of this Clause, based on the principle of reciprocity.
Article 451, Clause 1 of the same Law sets the deadline:
Within 3 years from the date a foreign arbitral award takes legal effect, the judgment creditor, persons with related legitimate rights and interests, or their lawful representatives shall have the right to submit an application to the Ministry of Justice of Vietnam or a competent Vietnamese court to request recognition and enforcement of such award in Vietnam.
Three years, counted from the date the award becomes binding, not from the date you discover the debtor has assets. Miss it and the right is gone.
The application goes to the Ministry of Justice or directly to the provincial People's Court where the debtor has its head office or its assets, with consularly legalised copies of the contract, the arbitration agreement and the award, plus certified Vietnamese translations.
Two cases, opposite outcomes, one difference
Enforcement granted. A Korean vessel owner chartered a ship to a Vietnamese charterer in Ba Ria – Vung Tau to carry bulk coal from Indonesia to Vung Tau. Articles 16 and 27 of the charterparty sent disputes to London arbitration under LMAA rules and English law. Unpaid hire and demurrage went to arbitration and on 12 October 2021 the sole arbitrator awarded the owner 70,581.60 US dollars in principal plus interest and costs.
The first-instance court refused recognition, saying notice had been insufficient: Decision No. 01/2023/QDST-KDTM dated 20 July 2023 of the Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province People's Court case.unilaw.vn . On appeal the High People's Court in Ho Chi Minh City reversed it entirely in Decision No. 07/2024/QD-PT dated 28 January 2024 case.unilaw.vn . The arbitration agreement was valid, notices had gone to the charterer's registered corporate address, and the tribunal was properly constituted under English law. The award was recognised and made enforceable across Vietnam.
Enforcement refused. A Chinese buyer bought honey aloe vera gel from a Vietnamese manufacturer under a contract sending disputes to SHIAC in Shanghai. SHIAC issued an award on 24 July 2019 ordering the Vietnamese seller to refund 21,250 US dollars plus damages and fees. The Ho Chi Minh City People's Court granted recognition in Decision No. 1603/2020/QDST-KDTM dated 25 September 2020 case.unilaw.vn .
The seller appealed, and the record defeated the award. SHIAC had scheduled a second hearing for 21 April 2019; supplementary evidence reached the courier only on 18 April, and formal notice arrived in Vietnam on 29 April, eight days after the hearing. The High People's Court in Ho Chi Minh City refused recognition in Decision No. 39/2021/QD-PT dated 27 May 2021 case.unilaw.vn .
The statutory ground is Article 459, Clause 1, Point c of Law No. 92/2015/QH14 on Civil Procedure:
A Vietnamese court shall not recognize a foreign arbitral award when it finds that the evidence provided to the court by the party against whom enforcement is sought to oppose the request is well-founded and legal, and the arbitral award falls under one of the following cases: The agency, organization, or individual against whom enforcement is sought was not properly and promptly notified of the appointment of arbitrators, or of the dispute resolution procedures at the foreign arbitration, or was unable to exercise their procedural rights due to other legitimate reasons.
Clause 2, Point b of the same Article adds a second gate: recognition is refused if enforcement would be contrary to the fundamental principles of Vietnamese law.
The difference between the two cases was not the merits. It was whether the respondent was given a real chance to appear.
Four things that decide whether your award survives in Vietnam
Draft the notice mechanics into the arbitration clause. Name the institution, the governing law, and the exact addresses and email accounts for service.
Serve through channels that leave proof. Couriers with signed delivery receipts, with enough lead time before each hearing for the respondent to prepare.
Diarise the three-year deadline from the award date, not from the date you start chasing assets.
Legalise the dossier early. Consular legalisation and certified Vietnamese translation of the contract, the arbitration agreement and the award take weeks, and the court will not start without them.
How UniLaw helps
We draft CPTPP-compatible arbitration clauses, run recognition and enforcement applications before Vietnamese provincial courts and the High People's Courts, and defend against enforcement where service or jurisdiction was defective.
Sources
- Decision No. 01/2023/QDST-KDTM dated 20 July 2023 (Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province People's Court) / Decision No. 07/2024/QD-PT dated 28 January 2024 (High People's Court in Ho Chi Minh City) – recognition of an LMAA London award, granted on appeal.
- Decision No. 1603/2020/QDST-KDTM dated 25 September 2020 (Ho Chi Minh City People's Court) / Decision No. 39/2021/QD-PT dated 27 May 2021 (High People's Court in Ho Chi Minh City) – recognition of a SHIAC award refused for defective notice.
- Law No. 92/2015/QH14 on Civil Procedure – Article 424 (Clause 1), Article 451 (Clause 1), Article 459 (Clause 1 Point c, Clause 2 Point b).
- Law No. 61/2020/QH14 on Investment – Article 5 (Clauses 1, 2).
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