A party that loses a commercial arbitration and wants a court to annul the award must act very fast: the deadline is only 30 days. The rule is in Article 69 of the Law on Commercial Arbitration 2010 (54/2010/QH12, still in force at the time of writing, October 2026; Article 69 was not amended by Law 81/2025/QH15 — that law amended only Article 7 on arbitral institutions).
30 days from receipt of the award
Article 69(1) provides that within 30 days from the date of receiving the arbitral award, the parties may request a court to annul it. Key points:
- The clock starts on the "date of receipt", not the date the award was rendered. Receipt is normally established by acknowledgment, delivery confirmation, or other valid delivery evidence.
- This is a very short deadline compared with many other procedural time limits — businesses should start preparing the file as soon as they receive an adverse award, without delay.
Force majeure time is excluded
Article 69(2) provides that time during which a force majeure event or objective obstacle occurs is not counted toward the deadline. However, the requesting party must prove the force majeure/objective obstacle and its causal link to the missed filing — the burden of proof rests on the party invoking it.
Distinguish: Article 69 (annulment) vs Article 63 (registration)
These two procedures are often confused:
- Article 69 — request to annul the award: initiated by the party disagreeing with the award, aimed at invalidating it.
- Article 63 — registration of the award: a procedure to record the award as a basis for enforcement, not an attack on the award.
Confusing the two can lead to filing the wrong petition, missing the deadline, and losing the right.
Important: court jurisdiction changed from 1 July 2025
Law 81/2025/QH15 (amending the Law on Commercial Arbitration, effective 1 July 2025) amended Article 7 on arbitration-related organization and jurisdiction. Therefore, the old jurisdictional formula must not be applied (e.g., the former "provincial People's Court" formula) when identifying the court competent to hear an annulment request. Filers must check the rules in force at the time of filing, including Resolution 01/2025/NQ-HDTP of the Council of Judges of the Supreme People's Court on court jurisdiction after the court-system reform.
Frequently asked questions
What if the 30 days have passed? As a rule, once the deadline expires without proven force majeure or objective obstacle, the right to request annulment is lost. Correctly establishing the date of receipt is therefore critical.
Can a party both seek annulment and enforcement? Normally the annulment requester is the losing party; the winning party seeks recognition and enforcement. The two tracks are independent but related — a unified litigation strategy is needed.
Does an annulment request automatically suspend enforcement? No, not automatically. Any suspension of enforcement follows separate procedural and enforcement law and requires a specific decision by the competent authority.
Legal sources
- Law on Commercial Arbitration 2010 (54/2010/QH12), Article 69(1), (2) and Article 63 — in force at the time of writing (October 2026).
- Law 81/2025/QH15 amending the Law on Commercial Arbitration (effective 1 July 2025) — amends Article 7, not Article 69.
- Resolution 01/2025/NQ-HDTP of the Council of Judges of the Supreme People's Court on court jurisdiction after the reform.
Received an adverse arbitral award and need to assess annulment prospects? The FLAT Law Firm team advises on arbitration dispute strategy, reviews annulment grounds, and represents clients before the courts. Contact us at contact us.
The information in this article is general reference based on the law in force at the time of writing, not legal advice for any specific matter.
Transparency note: This article was drafted by FLAT Law Firm's AI content production system and is undergoing internal review (AI Legal Council QA and owner approval before publication). It has not been reviewed by a human lawyer.