Question 30: In which case will the spouse as the plaintiff have the right to petition the Court to apply preliminary injunctive relief (such as prohibiting an obligor from exiting Vietnam or freesing accounts at the banks or prohibiting transfers of property rights with respect to common properties of the spouses in dispute?

According to the provisions of law, in general, during the resolution of a litigation case, the spouses, their legal representative or the agencies, organisations or individuals[3] have the right to petition the Court’s in charge to apply one or more preliminary injunctive relief[4]. Therefore, a plaintiff in a divorce case has the right to request the Court to apply for preliminary injunctive relief. The purpose to apply preliminary injunctive relief is to provisionally resolve the urgent petition of the concerned litigant to protect his or her life, health, assets, to collect and protect evidence, preserve the status quo in order to avoid irrecoverable loss and damage and to secure resolution of the case and legal enforcement.

In an emergency situation where it is necessary to immediately protect evidence and to prevent potentially serious consequences, the preliminary injunctive relief shall be applied. According to the Civil Proceedings Code 2015 regarding the following circumstances to be allowed to apply preliminary injunctive relief in the divorce cases:

  • In the case where the spouses are separated, but the common child is being cared for and raised by either spouse, the spouse directly raising the common child commits acts such as internal violence, no foster care, health care neglection, or serious harm to health, psychology and learning, a spouse has the right to petition the Court to issue a decision to apply the preliminary injunctive relief: assigning a person who is minor, or who has lost the capacity for civil acts, or who has difficulty in perceiving or controlling his or her acts, to an individual or an organisation to look after, nurture, directly take care of and educate the child during the resolution of a case and the protection of the child development;
  • Considering that the failure to perform in advance a part of the obligation to support will affect the health and life of the supported persons (such as child(ren));
  • For the common properties of the spouses in dispute, during the resolution of a disputing case, a spouse realises that the other has, on the properties in dispute, carried out one of the following actions:

Conducting the act of hiding or destroying the properties;

Transferring of the property rights with respect to the properties in dispute to another person;

Conducting the act of dismantling, installing, or constructing additional items; or

Conducting the act for the purpose of changing the status quo of such properties.

  • A spouse has a deposit or deposited properties at the bank. However, the deposited properties are intended to be a security for financial obligation with a third person, where the third person has the right to apply for the preliminary injunctive relief to freese accounts at the bank; and
  • In case a spouse is a victim of family violence affecting the life, health, and honour of the abused person, the measure of prohibiting contact with the victim of family violence will be applied.

[3] Article 187 of Civil Proceedings Code.

[4] Article 114 of Civil Proceedings Code.

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