Worthy of Mention: A recent judgment clarifies rules on disclosure of documents “mentioned” in witness statements

July 18, 2022
The rules on disclosure and inspection of documents in litigation are complex and often leave much room for debate. This is particularly true in the contentious area of unintended compulsory disclosure caused by a passing reference in a witness statement. The consequences of mentioning a document in evidence has long been a trap for the unwary, sometimes leading to crucial additional, unintended, disclosure. Recently, a judgment handed down by the English High Court cast further light on what documents may be subject to disclosure for the sake of being “mentioned” in the witness statement. The Court’s interpretation of the relevant procedural rules provides more certainty for legal practitioners and their clients alike as to the scope of disclosure and should serve as strong persuasive precedent in the offshore jurisdictions where broadly analogous procedural rules tend to apply.  In Hoegh & Anor v Taylor Wessing Llp & Anor1, a defendant sought an order for the production of a document/documents mentioned in four paragraphs of a witness statement in support of the claimant. The relevant rules required disclosure of a mentioned document, and included the proviso that a ‘document is mentioned where it is referred to, cited in whole or in part or there is a direct allusion to it.’ The document(s) sought was regarding a review that the claimants instructed PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) to undertake in around March 2021, and the ground for disclosure was based on the fact that the witness statement made a direct allusion to it. In interpreting what constitutes “direct allusion”, the Court reviewed and relied on previous case law, including the English Court of Appeal’s...

Vietnam May Consider Nuclear Energy as a Long-Runner to Ensure Its Energy Security With a Net-Zero Mission

July 15, 2022
Vietnam seems to re-consider its nuclear plans for civil purposes in order to ensure its energy security and support its ambitions to emerge as an alternate global supply chain leader in the region. For the next 5-10 years, the countries primary focal point remains renewables, LNG-to-power sources and smart grid, storage capacities etc. Nuclear on the other hand recently witnessed the lime light with a futuristic approach to strengthen a blended mix of several power sources on the soil in the coming 15 – 20 years. Below is a brief analysis on where we stand and what we might expect, or initiate to consider in best interests of the humanity to counter the climate change concerns with a net-zero aim by 2050: Vietnamese legal framework on atomic energy On 3rd June 2008, the Law No. 18/2008/QH12 on Atomic Energy (Law on Atomic Energy) was adopted by the National Assembly and took effect in 2009 following which the Government of Vietnam (GVN) has also passed relevant Decrees. The Law on Atomic Energy governs all activities in the field of atomic energy including promoting activities and the assurance of safety and security for those activities. It applies to Vietnamese organizations and individuals, oversea Vietnamese individuals, foreign individuals and international organizations who conduct activities in the field of atomic energy in Vietnam. Under the Vietnamese laws, the current licensing system is complicated, specifically: the Prime Minister isresponsible for site and feasibility study approval; the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) is responsible for elaborating a master plan on atomic energy development and application, and shall take charge and cooperate with the Ministry...

Evidence In Labor Cases

July 7, 2022
In general, a party who files a labor claim is obligated to submit evidence: the plaintiff to prove its claim(s) and the defendant to prove its counter claim(s). When litigating in this area, parties should be aware of that there are a number of evidentiary rules which are particular to labor disputes. The following is a discussion of various notable decisions in labor litigation concerning the collection and submission of evidence, which have an effect on the admissibility of evidence in a court of law. Documentation that is not the original or certified true copies In a labor dispute involving employment termination decided by the People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City, the employee (plaintiff) submitted to the Court a photocopy of the internal working regulations of the company without it being either certified as a true copy or examined by the judicial officers in comparison with the originals. The first-instance court accepted the plaintiff’s claims based on this photocopy, but the People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City subsequently rejected the employee’s claim at the appellate stage and, additionally based on other procedural violations of the first-instance court, abrogated the first-instance judgment. In detail, Judgment No.522/2019/LD-PT dated June 05, 2019, the People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City stated that: “The evidence was not collected in compliance with Article 95 of the Code of Civil Procedure: Documents such as […] and the Internal Working Regulations are photocopies without being either certified as true copies or examined by judicial officers basing on comparison with the originals. So these documents are not recognized as valid evidence. It is a violation of the law...

The Greater China IP Updates – June 2022

July 7, 2022
TIPO Finalizes Draft Amendments to Taiwan’s Patent Law The Taiwan Intellectual Property Office recently submitted the draft Patent Law Amendment to the Executive Yuan and is expected to be passed soon.  Some of the key aspects of the amendment are as follows: A Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) will be established.  This new agency will deal with appeals of TIPO’s rejections of patent applications, patent term extension requests and procedural requests.  Also, post-grant amendments, compulsory license requests and invalidation actions will be handled by the board whose official name will be The Patent Committee for Review and Dispute Resolution.  The PTAB will be composed of senior patent examiners and legal experts, and a panel of 3 or 5 members will be formed to hear each case. The administrative appeal system will be adjusted.  The Petitions and Appeals Committee will be replaced by the PTAB, and the PTAB will replace the existing re-examination mechanism within the TIPO, thus becoming the first tribunal to hear an invalidation action.  For invalidation actions, the PTAB will examine invalidation actions on the basis of the adversary system by holding oral hearings. The time limit for filing divisional applications will be changed.  The time limit in future will be before issuance of the PTAB decision on an application or within 3 months from the date of receipt of a Notice of Allowance issued to an application.  These rules will also apply to design and utility model applications too. The grace period of 6 months after the disclosure of a design application and before filing will be extended to 12 months. In a dispute over...

Amendments to Law on Enterprises, Practical Notes on Company’s Dual Legal Representative Regime and Government’s Detailed Guidance on Implementing Investment Regulations in Vietnam

July 7, 2022
I. AMENDMENT OF THE LAW ON ENTERPRISES AND PRACTICAL NOTE ON COMPANY’S DUAL LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE REGIME On 11 January 2022, the National Assembly adopted Law No. 03/2022/QH15 on amendments and supplements to a number of articles of Public Investment Law, Law on Public-Private Partnership Investment, Law on Investment, Law on Residential Housing, Law on Bidding, Electricity Law, Law on Enterprises, Special Consumption Tax Law, and Law on Enforcement of Civil Judgment (collectively, the “New Amendment Law”). The New Amendment Law took effect on 1 March 2022. Vote-counting method at General Meeting of Shareholders (“GMS”)  1. Vote-counting method at General Meeting of Shareholders (“GMS”) Previously, Article 148 of the Law on Enterprises provided that the voting threshold of shareholders at a meeting of the GMS was determined based on the number of votes of all participating shareholders, regardless of whether these shareholders cast their votes or not. However, under the New Amendment Law, such voting threshold is now determined based on the number of votes of participating shareholders who cast their votes. 2. Requisite signature for effectiveness of the meeting’s minutes of Members’ Council (“MC”) or Board of Director (“BOD”) Pursuant to a former provision of the Law on Enterprises, the meeting minutes of MC (with respect to a limited liability company) or BOD (with respect to a joint stock company) require signatures of the chairman of the meeting and the person who prepares the meeting minutes. However, their refusal to sign did not invalidate the meeting minutes as long as other members attending the meeting have all signed the meeting minutes. This provision could result in a circumstance that any member of...

Cybersecurity Law and the Practice of Preventing Cyber Fraud in Vietnam

July 7, 2022
Concurrently with the rest of the World, online transactions over the internet have become commonplace in Vietnam and continue to expand its reach to all aspects of business. The banking and retail sectors are just two of the major industries that currently rely, at least in part, on remote transactions. This evolution also has a dark side with the development of cybercrime where a victim is fraudulently induced to provide personal or private information that the cybercriminal utilizes to appropriate assets. In this Insight, Le & Tran explores the recent developments and progression of cybersecurity law and data retention in Vietnam. Further, the regulations are applied to the real world and useful advice is provided to assist you in following the law and protecting the information of your business and your clients/customers. Existing cyber fraud situation in Vietnam Along with the development of communication networks and information technology (IT) applications, fraud conducted through the internet has grown substantially, both in quantity and sophistication. Although the authorities and media have repeatedly warned people about these fraudulent actions, the continuous evolution of methods and modus operandi of cybercriminals, combined with intimate knowledge of their victims’ hopes and desires, enables them to scam large sums of money nationwide. Cyber fraud in the past mainly consisted of scams that would target those connecting online, persons establishing friendships, or would request money transfers from victims in order to receive gifts at customs. In addition, it was common to hack social media accounts or impersonate relatives or acquaintances to ask for money or mobile scratch cards. The fraud that exists nowadays has become much more...