Expanding the Scope of Precedents in Vietnam: from the Area of Vicarious Liability Law

Expanding the Scope of Precedents in Vietnam: from the Area of Vicarious Liability Law

Precedents have been recognized as one of the sources of civil law in Vietnam since 2015, a giant leap in such a statutory-based civil law jurisdiction. Vietnam's precedent differs from that of other civil law systems regarding its functions and procedure for issuance. Specifically, precedent is considered an increasing important source of law, supplying an essential way of explaining rules in practice. However, the number of precedents in Vietnam is minimal, partially due to the requirement that only judgments chosen by the Justice Council of the People's Supreme Court through a complex procedure could become precedents. Such a filter might de facto limit the potential development of Vietnamese civil law, as observed in the particular area of Vietnamese vicarious liability law. After carefully examining statutory provisions and various judgments in this area, this article contends that there are many theoretical and practical issues in Vietnamese vicarious liability law, and applying precedents is crucial to fill these gaps timely to foster justice. However, while many available and valuable judgments exist, no precedent has been recognized to apply in this area. The article proposes that Vietnamese civil law should clearly define its precedent concept, expand the number of precedents, and upgrade its precedent recognition process as soon as possible. However, the extent to which it is extended, concerns about the judgment's quality, and its application priority are factors that need further discussion.