Message from VIAC Secretary General 2026

Dear All,

As VIAC marks its 32nd year of operation in 2025, I find myself reflecting on how profoundly the landscape of international arbitration has transformed - and how much VIAC itself has grown alongside it. We look back on 2025 as a year of bold decisions and purposeful action, in which VIAC advanced on multiple fronts simultaneously, both in dispute resolution activities and its active contribution to Vietnam's legal reform agenda.

In 2025, 532 new cases have been logged at VIAC for resolution - another year of strong performance reflecting the sustained and growing confidence that the Vietnamese and international business communities place in VIAC as their dispute resolution partner of choice. Disputes continued to arise across a broad spectrum of sectors - from sale of goods, construction and real estate, to finance, energy and emerging areas such as digital commerce and fintech - reflecting both the dynamism of Vietnam's economy and the expanding role that arbitration now plays in commercial life. Parties from 65 countries and territories brought their disputes to VIAC, affirming our position as an institution of genuine international reach.

The most significant institutional development of 2025 was the preparation and consultation process for the VIAC’s Arbitration Rules version 2026. The VIAC Rules 2017, which came into force on 1 March 2017, have served us with distinction over nearly a decade, administering close to 2,000 arbitral proceedings.

Yet with 32 years of operational experience, we understand clearly that procedural rules must evolve in step with practice - and that a modern arbitral institution must ensure its rules framework meets the growing sophistication of its users.

The drafting of the 2026 Rules was undertaken against the backdrop of what I would describe as the alignment of three favourable conditions: The timing  - Vietnam is pursuing the institutional and legal reform in commercial and investment dispute resolution, aligned with international standards and accompanied by the broader eastward shift of international arbitration activity, the context  - Vietnam's arbitration market has entered a stage of rapid and professional growth, with arbitration expressly recognised in landmark legislation and an enabling infrastructure now in place for electronic proceedings, the community  -  a dynamic community of legal practitioners engaged in arbitration has taken shape in Vietnam, capable of handling both domestic and international disputes to an increasingly high standard; and with the VIAC itself has accumulated close to a decade of additional case management experience since our last Rules revision).

Drawing on accumulated operational experience and extensive consultation with experts, arbitrators and practitioners, the draft Rules 2026 underwent multiple rounds of review, more than 300 hours of VIAC’s working group sessions, deliberation and refinement. The new edition aims to comprehensively elevate the quality and efficiency of arbitral proceedings at VIAC.

2025 was also defined legally by a remarkable convergence of legislative and judicial reforms that together represent a substantial strengthening of Vietnam's arbitration framework.

(i) The 2024 Land Law took a significant step in affirming broad arbitrability by formally recognising that commercial disputes related to land may be resolved by Vietnamese courts or by Vietnamese arbitration in accordance with the Law on Commercial Arbitration. This clarification - long awaited by the business and legal community - removes a persistent source of uncertainty and reflects a deliberate policy choice to channel this important category of land-related commercial disputes exclusively toward Vietnamese forums.

(ii) The 2025 Construction Law goes further still, embedding dispute resolution directly into the architecture of contract governance rather than treating it as an afterthought. Article 86 establishes a structured escalation framework - negotiation, ADR and international models, arbitration or court - and notably recognises internationally accepted mechanisms (such as DB, DAB and DAAB), in alignment with FIDIC-based contracting practice. Notably, the law appropriately channels disputes in PPP and public projects toward domestic arbitration as preference and requires approval for international mechanisms in those contexts, which is in line with approaches taken by other major economies in the region.

(iii) The judicial reorganization by Resolution No. 81/2025/UBTVQH15 among other matters, centralises the authority to supervise and handle requests to set aside domestic arbitral awards in only three designated provincial courts - Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang. This is a structural reform of genuine significance: by concentrating supervisory jurisdiction in a small number of specialised courts with deep experience in commercial and arbitration matters, the reform promotes consistency, predictability and professional quality in the judiciary's oversight of arbitration. It is, in short, pro-arbitration architecture at the court level - and a concrete signal of the Vietnamese State's commitment to building a reliable, internationally credible arbitration environment.

Taken together, these developments represent a coherent and accelerating policy direction: Vietnam is domestically focusing on improving the ecosystem for arbitration, aiming at becoming a preferred venue and seat of arbitration in the region. VIAC has contributed actively to this process and will continue to do so. 

VIAC is currently at an inflection point.

The world in 2025 has been marked by geopolitical volatility, trade disruption and rapid technological change. In this environment, the demand for neutral, efficient and enforceable dispute resolution has never been greater. VIAC, therefore, reaffirms its committment to meeting that demand - through institutional excellence, procedural integrity and a sustained investment in the quality of our arbitrators, our processes and our people.

The forthcoming 2026 Rules – which will be officially announced in the Vietnam Arbitration & Mediation Week 2026 (from May 25th to 29th), the VIAC eCase platform – our continuing effort in digital transformation, the legislative reforms now taking hold, and a maturing community of arbitration practitioners together mark the opening of a new chapter for VIAC. We are conscious that this is a moment for bold plans, decisive steps and determined action..

I am grateful for the trust, support and intellectual engagement of our Arbitrators, Mediators, partners, users, the broader legal community and our staff who make VIAC's work possible. With that confidence, we look forward to the journey ahead.

Respectfully.

MR. VU ANH DUONG

Permanent Vice President cum Secretary General
Vietnam International Arbitration Centre (VIAC)

🔴 VIAC'S 2025 HIGHLIGHTS

*The Message is excerpted from VIAC’s 2025 Annual Report. The full version is available here