Non-contractual damages deal with losses arising where the parties have no contract at all, or where the harm falls outside what a contract promised: injuries caused by construction works, animals injuring passers-by, products harming third parties, reputation attacks online. Chapter XX of the Civil Code 23/2015/QH13, Articles 584 to 608, is the central framework. This article follows the order in which a lawyer audits a file: grounds of liability, compensable loss, responsible parties and limitation.
Grounds of liability under Article 584
Article 584 of the Civil Code 23/2015/QH13 builds liability on four elements: an act infringing the life, health, honour, dignity, reputation, property or other lawful rights and interests of another person; actual damage; a causal link between the act and the damage; and fault, intentional or negligent, on the part of the person causing the damage. The claimant must prove the whole chain; if one link breaks, the claim usually fails.
Article 584 also records the exceptions: no liability arises where the damage results from force majeure or entirely from the fault of the injured party, and the law imposes liability without fault in defined cases. The standard example is liability attached to sources of extreme danger under Article 601, where the owner, possessor or user of the dangerous source must compensate even without fault, save for statutory situations such as the injured partys intentional fault or force majeure.
Principles and categories of compensable loss
Article 585 of the Civil Code 23/2015/QH13 sets the principle that actual damage must be compensated in full and promptly, and the parties may agree on the level, form and method of compensation. A court may reduce the amount where the person causing damage was negligent and the loss is excessive compared with their economic capacity. Capacity to bear liability by age is addressed in Article 586: persons aged eighteen or older answer with their own assets, while damage caused by a person under fifteen is handled through parents or guardians under the statutory mechanism.
As to scope, Article 589 covers damage from infringement of property, including lost or destroyed property, costs of preventing and remedying damage, and lost benefits from using and exploiting the property. Article 590 covers damage to health: treatment costs, actual lost or reduced income, carer costs and a sum for moral damage subject to a statutory cap. Articles 591 and 592 continue with damage from infringement of life and damage to honour, dignity and reputation, each with its own components and its own moral-damage cap. This article does not convert those caps into concrete sums, because the benchmark figure must be confirmed under the instruments applicable when the case is resolved.
Special responsible parties and limitation
Beyond individuals, a legal person must compensate for damage caused by its personnel while performing assigned tasks under Article 597 of the Civil Code, and may then seek reimbursement from the person at fault. Later provisions of Chapter XX address special situations such as damage caused by animals, by trees, and by houses and construction works, attaching liability to the corresponding owner or manager or user.
Article 588 of the Civil Code 23/2015/QH13 sets the limitation period for a damages claim at three years from the date the entitled person knew or should have known that their lawful rights and interests were infringed. For health and life cases, pinning down the date of knowledge is decisive, because injuries are often revealed and assessed long after the event itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
What must be proven to claim non-contractual damages?
Under Article 584 of the Civil Code 23/2015/QH13, the claimant must prove four conditions: an act infringing their lawful rights or interests; actual damage; a causal link between the act and the damage; and fault, intentional or negligent, of the person causing the damage. Certain statutory cases impose liability even without fault, such as liability attached to sources of extreme danger under Article 601. Conversely, force majeure or the injured partys own fault entirely prevents liability from arising.
Which losses are compensable: property, health, life and moral damages?
Compensable categories under Chapter XX of the Civil Code 23/2015/QH13 include: property damage (Article 589: lost or destroyed property, prevention and remedy costs and lost benefits); health damage (Article 590: treatment costs, lost or reduced income, carer costs and moral damages within the statutory cap); damage from infringement of life (Article 591) and damage to honour, dignity and reputation (Article 592), each with its own moral-damage mechanism.
What is the limitation period for a non-contractual damages claim?
Under Article 588 of the Civil Code 23/2015/QH13, the limitation period for a non-contractual damages claim is three years from the date the entitled person knew or should have known their lawful rights and interests were infringed. Fixing the date of knowledge matters especially for health and life harm, because assessment results often arrive long after the event.
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This legal analysis has been verified against current Vietnamese regulations and cross-border FDI transaction practices by the attorneys at FLAT LAW FIRM.
