General overview of land disputes

What is a land dispute?

According to Clause 24, Article 3 of the 2013 Land Law, land dispute is a dispute about the rights and obligations of land users between two or more parties in a land relationship.

Types of land disputes

Based on the above concept, land disputes can be divided into the following types:

First, disputes over land use rights: Disputes between users over land boundaries, commonly disputes over shared alleys, adjacent land boundaries, administrative boundaries, etc. Type of dispute This often happens because one of the parties arbitrarily changes the boundary or the parties cannot determine the boundary, and in some cases even appropriates another person's land area.

In addition, there are also disputes to reclaim land, reclaim assets attached to land that were previously owned by them or their relatives but for some reason they no longer manage or use it. .

Second, disputes over rights and obligations arising during the land use process: This type of dispute often arises when the parties have civil transactions on land use rights such as related to land transfer contracts, Contracts for leasing land use rights or related to land support and resettlement, etc.

Third, other disputes related to land: Some other common land-related disputes today include: disputes over land use rights as common property when husband and wife divorce, Disputes over inheritance, land use rights, etc.

Instructions for resolving land disputes

Self-conciliation and negotiation

In Clause 1, Article 202 of the 2013 Land Law, there is a regulation that the State encourages parties to land disputes to reconcile themselves or resolve land disputes through conciliation at the grassroots level. The results of self-conciliation and negotiation do not require the parties to comply but depend on their goodwill.

Mediation at the Commune People's Committee

Clause 2, Article 202 of the 2013 Land Law stipulates that if a land dispute cannot be reconciled, the disputing parties must send a request to the Commune People's Committee where the disputed land is located for conciliation. Thus, when the parties cannot reconcile or negotiate on their own but want to continue resolving the dispute, they must send an application to the People's Committee (hereinafter referred to as People's Committee) at the commune level where the land is located to request reconciliation. prize. This is a mandatory step before the parties want to submit an application to the district or provincial People's Committee or sue in court for resolution.

Resolve when conciliation fails

The result of conciliation at the Commune People's Committee will occur in one of two cases:

Case 1: Reconciliation is successful. If this is the case, the dispute ends.

Case two: Reconciliation fails. In this case, if they want to continue resolving the dispute, the parties can file a request for resolution at the district or provincial People's Committee or initiate a lawsuit in Court. Depending on each case, the law stipulates the choice of place of settlement.

Competent authority to resolve land disputes

According to Clauses 2 and 3, Article 203 of the 2013 Land Law, land disputes that have been conciliated at the commune-level People's Committee but are unsuccessful will be resolved at the competent agencies, specifically as follows:

People's Committee at district and provincial levels

The form of land dispute resolution at district and provincial People's Committees is applicable to litigants who do not have a Certificate (Pink Book, Red Book) or have one of the documents specified in Article 100 of the Land Law. year 2013.

First, the district-level People's Committee has the authority to resolve disputes between households, individuals, and communities. The resolver is the Chairman of the district People's Committee.

If they do not agree with the dispute resolution decision, the parties have the right to complain to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee or initiate a lawsuit at the People's Court where they have jurisdiction according to the provisions of administrative procedure law.

Second, the Provincial People's Committee has the authority to resolve disputes in which at least one disputing party is an organization, religious establishment, Vietnamese residing abroad, or foreign-invested enterprise. The resolver is the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee.

If they do not agree with the dispute resolution decision, the parties have the right to complain to the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment or initiate a lawsuit at the People's Court where they have jurisdiction according to the provisions of administrative procedure law.

Court

The form of land dispute resolution at the People's Court is applied to the following situations:

The litigant has a Certificate or one of the documents specified in Article 100 of the 2013 Land Law and a dispute over assets attached to land;

Disputes over assets attached to land (houses, construction works...);

The litigant does not have a Certificate or does not have one of the documents specified in Article 100 of the 2013 Land Law and does not choose the competent authority to resolve the matter, which is the People's Committees at all levels.

Pursuant to Articles 35, 37, 39 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code, the authority to resolve land disputes belongs to the jurisdiction of the district People's Court where the disputed land is located, except in cases where the litigants are abroad. It is necessary to proceed with judicial entrustment, which falls under the jurisdiction of the provincial people's court

Procedures for suing land disputes in court

Step 1: Submit a lawsuit

The lawsuit file includes:

• Petition according to form No. 23-DS issued with Resolution 01/2017/NQ-HDTP;
• Documents proving land use rights such as a Certificate or one of the documents specified in Article 100 of the 2013 Land Law;
• The conciliation minutes are certified by the commune-level People's Committee and signed by the disputing parties;
• Documents of the plaintiff (household registration book, citizen identification card);
• List of documents and evidence related to land dispute cases.

Form of filing a lawsuit: According to regulations at the Court under Article 190 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code, litigants can choose to file a lawsuit directly at the Court or send it to the Court via the service route. postage or send online via the Court's Electronic Information Portal (if any).

Step 2: The court accepts and resolves the case

After receiving the petition, the Court must review the documents and evidence to see if they fall under the Court's jurisdiction or not, as well as request additional documents if the documents are missing if they fall under the Court's jurisdiction. .

In case the dossier is complete, the Court will notify you of the advance payment of court fees. The plaintiff pays the court fee in advance at the tax office and brings the receipt to the Court to return. Once completed, the Court will accept the case.

Legal basis: Article 195 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code.

Lawyers guide to resolve land disputes

• Receive, research and evaluate the legal value of documents and evidence from which to propose solutions to ensure the rights and interests of customers in cases related to land disputes;
• Drafting necessary documents and documents according to customer requests, documents presenting opinions from a legal perspective to protect customer rights;
• Drafting petitions and other documents during the proceedings: Self-declaration, request for collection of evidence documents, application for temporary emergency measures,...;
• Receive authorization, on behalf of customers to participate in resolving disputes with related parties;
• Collect documents and evidence necessary for the dispute resolution process;
• Participate in arguments in court at all levels to protect clients' legitimate rights and interests.