When a state agencys decision directly affects their interests, individuals and businesses have two distinct routes: complain to the administrative system itself, or sue in court. This article gives the overall framework for administrative lawsuits under the Law on Administrative Procedures 93/2015/QH13: what can be challenged, who may sue, which court hears the case and what stages the proceedings pass through.
What can be challenged: administrative decisions and acts
Under Article 30 of the Law on Administrative Procedures 93/2015/QH13, the objects of a lawsuit include administrative decisions, administrative acts, decisions on disciplinary dismissal, decisions resolving complaints about competition case-handling decisions, and voter-list preparation in statutory cases. A challengeable administrative decision must be individualised, applying to a specific subject and creating, changing or terminating that subjects rights and obligations.
Not every document issued by a state agency can be sued over. Normative legal documents and internal decisions of agencies and organisations fall outside the scope of administrative lawsuits. Classifying the object correctly at the outset determines whether the petition is accepted or returned.
Who may sue and the one-year window
Article 115 of the Law on Administrative Procedures 93/2015/QH13 defines the plaintiff as an individual, agency or organisation affected by an administrative decision or act who exercises the right to sue in court. Article 116 sets the limitation period at one year from the date of receiving or learning of the challenged decision or act, with separate starting points for specific objects such as complaint-resolution decisions or voter lists.
The one-year window is far shorter than ordinary civil limitation periods and is a common reason administrative cases are suspended. Intending plaintiffs should count from the date they learned of the decision and preserve evidence of when they received it, to prove the filing was in time.
Jurisdiction after 1 July 2025
From 1 July 2025, the Peoples Court system no longer includes district-level courts. Under the Law on Organisation of Peoples Courts 34/2024/QH15 and the accompanying jurisdiction-allocation instruments, first-instance jurisdiction over administrative cases rests with regional Peoples Courts and provincial-level Peoples Courts, depending on the level of the agency that issued the challenged decision and the nature of the case. Describing an administrative case as heard by a district-level court reflects the earlier structure and is no longer accurate.
Before filing, plaintiffs should identify the level of the issuing agency and check the allocation rules currently applied to their case type, because filing in the wrong court leads to transfer of the petition and delay, while the one-year period keeps running.
Procedure and court fees
An administrative case passes through filing and acceptance, trial preparation with dialogue between the parties, first-instance trial, and possibly an appellate stage upon appeal or protest. Beyond the two trial levels, an effective judgment may still be re-examined under cassation or reopening procedures where statutory grounds exist. The first-instance court fee for an administrative case is a non-value-based fee under Resolution 326/2016/UBTVQH14, unlike the percentage-of-value calculation used in civil cases.
Complaint and lawsuit: two independent routes
An administrative complaint under the Law on Complaints 02/2011/QH13 asks the administrative system to re-examine its own decision or act, or that of a subordinate. Contrary to common belief, complaining is not a mandatory step before suing: an affected person may sue directly in court within the one-year period, except in certain cases where sector law requires a prior procedure. The two routes nonetheless run on separate clocks, and pursuing a complaint does not automatically stop the lawsuit deadline, so anyone intending to sue must track both timelines in parallel.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which administrative decisions can be challenged in court?
Under Article 30 of the Law on Administrative Procedures 93/2015/QH13, challengeable objects include individualised administrative decisions applying to specific subjects, administrative acts, disciplinary dismissal decisions, decisions resolving complaints about competition case-handling decisions, and voter-list preparation in statutory cases. Normative legal documents and internal decisions of agencies and organisations cannot be challenged through an administrative lawsuit.
What is the time limit for filing an administrative lawsuit?
Under Article 116 of the Law on Administrative Procedures 93/2015/QH13, the limitation period for an administrative lawsuit is one year from the date of receiving or learning of the challenged administrative decision or act, with specific starting points for certain special objects. Filing after this period gives the court grounds to suspend the case, so plaintiffs need concrete evidence of when they learned of the decision.
How does an administrative lawsuit differ from an administrative complaint, and must I complain first before suing?
An administrative complaint under the Law on Complaints 02/2011/QH13 asks the administrative system to review its own decision or act; a lawsuit brings the matter before a court under the Law on Administrative Procedures 93/2015/QH13. Complaining is not a mandatory prerequisite to suing, except where sector law provides otherwise: affected persons may sue directly within the one-year period. Note that an ongoing complaint does not stop the lawsuit limitation period from running.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council