1. General principles on jurisdiction over real estate

Pursuant to Point c, Clause 1, Article 39 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC), for disputes where the subject matter is real estate, only the Court where the real estate is located has exclusive jurisdiction to resolve them. When administrative boundaries change due to a merger, the "Court where the real estate is located" will be determined as the Court managing the new administrative boundary (such as the regional People's Court post-merger).

2. Cases where a merger occurs during the resolution/re-adjudication process

This is a situation where a case is being accepted for trial by a Court (e.g., currently handling the first-instance trial) when the decision to merge administrative boundaries takes effect, leading the disputed land plot to fall under the management of a different administrative unit. This scenario has been guided by the Supreme People's Court (SPC) in Official Letter No. 163/TANDTC-PC dated September 10, 2024, on resolving difficulties in adjudication. The handling approach is divided into two procedural milestones:

- If the Court has not yet issued a Decision to bring the case to trial: The Court currently handling the case is mandatorily required to transfer the case file (under Article 41 of the CPC) to the new local Court (where the real estate is located post-merger) to continue accepting and resolving it in accordance with the correct territorial jurisdiction.

- If the Court has already issued a Decision to bring the case to trial: To ensure procedural stability and the progress of the case resolution, the Court currently handling it will not transfer the file. This Court will proceed to open the hearing and adjudicate the case under general procedures.

3. Cases where the judgment is annulled for re-adjudication after the merger is completed If the previous judgment is annulled by the Cassation/Reopening (Giám đốc thẩm/Tái thẩm) or Appellate (Phúc thẩm) level to be remanded for a new first-instance trial, and at the time the file is returned, the merger of administrative boundaries has been completed:

- The case file will be directly transferred to the competent Court according to the new administrative boundary to be re-accepted from the beginning.

- The rationale is that at the time of re-accepting the case, the Court must immediately apply Point c, Clause 1, Article 39 of the CPC. Since the land plot now falls within the boundaries of the new administrative unit, the regional Court where the real estate is located is naturally the competent authority to accept the case.

In summary: Determining which Court has the jurisdiction for re-adjudication depends on the procedural stage at which the merger event occurs (before or after the issuance of the Decision to bring the case to trial) and the principle of absolute compliance with the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court where the real estate is located.