The latest update on Civil Law 2015, Law No. 91/2015/QH13 by the National Assembly in 2023

Civil Law in general, and specifically the Civil Code, regulate legal civil relations based on voluntary, free, independent principles regarding property and self-responsibility. Join Mytour in exploring the detailed content in the following article.

Content, principles, regulated subjects of Civil Law 2015 number 91/2015/QH13
 

* Abbreviations:

- CLC: Civil Law Code.

* Download the latest Civil Law Code HERE

1. What is Civil Law?

- Civil law is one of the branches of law within the legal system of Vietnam. It regulates property relations, personal relations in civil matters, based on principles of freedom, equality, independence regarding property, and self-responsibility.

- Methods of regulating civil law: the ways, measures by which the State influences property/personal relations causing them to arise, change, or terminate according to the will of the State. The basis of these regulatory methods is equality, freedom, independence regarding property, and self-responsibility.

- The basic principles of civil law include:

+ All individuals, legal entities are equal and shall not discriminate against each other; they are equally protected by law regarding personal and property rights.

+ The basis for individuals, legal entities to establish, exercise, terminate their civil rights and obligations is: freedom, voluntary commitment, agreement.

All commitments, agreements must not violate the prohibitions of the law, must not contravene social ethics, are effective for the parties, and must be respected by other parties.

+ Individuals, legal entities must establish, exercise, terminate their civil rights and obligations in good faith, honesty.

+ Establishing, exercising, terminating civil rights and obligations must not infringe upon national interests, ethnic interests, public interests, or the lawful rights and interests of others.

+ Individuals, legal entities are responsible for not fulfilling or improperly fulfilling civil obligations.

2. Latest Civil Law Regulations

- In the field of civil law, the latest Civil Law Code is the specific document regulating civil legal relations concerning personal and property matters.

- The latest Civil Law Code in 2023 currently in effect is the Civil Law Code of 2015 (Law number 91/2015/QH13) issued on November 24, 2015, and effective from January 1, 2017.

- The Civil Law Code comprises 689 articles, divided into 06 parts:

+ Part one: GENERAL PROVISIONS

+ Part two: OWNERSHIP RIGHTS AND OTHER RIGHTS RELATING TO PROPERTY

+ Part three: OBLIGATIONS AND CONTRACTS

+ Part four: INHERITANCE

+ Part five: LAW APPLICABLE TO CIVIL RELATIONS WITH FOREIGN ELEMENTS

+ Part six: ENFORCEMENT PROVISIONS

- Scope of regulation

The Civil Law Code 2015 stipulates the legal status, legal standards regarding the conduct of individuals, legal entities; rights, obligations regarding personal and property matters of individuals, legal entities in relationships formed on the basis of equality, freedom of will, independence regarding property, and self-responsibility (civil relations).

Basic content of the Civil Law Code 2015, latest updates

3. Key Highlights of the Civil Law Code 2015

The current civil law brings about some fresh points as follows:

(1) Provision allowing gender transition

Under Article 37, the law explicitly states: 'Gender transition is carried out according to legal regulations. Individuals who have transitioned genders have the right and obligation to register changes of citizenship as prescribed...'

(2) Legal entities permitted as guardians

Under the old provisions of the 2005 Civil Code, only individuals were allowed to act as guardians. However, with the 2015 Civil Code, both individuals and legal entities can serve as guardians.

According to Article 50 of the Civil Code, legal entities meeting the following conditions can serve as guardians:

- Possessing legal capacity in civil law suitable for guardianship duties.

- Having the necessary conditions to fulfill the rights and obligations of the guardian.

(3) Provisions regarding beneficial rights

The 2015 Civil Code has allocated a separate section to regulate beneficial rights, including: entitlement, basis for establishing rights, validity of rights, time limits, rights of beneficiaries,...

(4) Clear provisions on interest rates by agreement

The 2015 CCL clearly states the parties authorized to agree on loan interest rates, not exceeding 20% per annum of the loan amount, except in cases specified otherwise.

(5) Execution of contracts when fundamental circumstances change

This matter is regulated by Article 420 of the 2015 Civil Code. According to it, fundamental circumstances change when the following conditions are met:

- The change in circumstances arises due to objective reasons after the contract is concluded;

- At the time of contract conclusion, the parties cannot foresee the change in circumstances;

- Circumstances change to the extent that if known beforehand, the contract would not have been entered into or would have been entered into with entirely different content;

- Continuing to perform the contract without modifying its terms would cause serious harm to one party;

- The affected party has taken all necessary measures within their capabilities, consistent with the nature of the contract, to mitigate the impact on their interests, which cannot be prevented or minimized;

Thus, civil law, and the Civil Code both aim to regulate social relationships concerning individuals and property. These provisions govern the everyday civil relationships of individuals and organizations, ensuring legal rights and interests for all parties involved.

Readers are encouraged to consult additional legal documents such as: Civil Procedure Code, Gender Equality Law, Civil Enforcement Law, ...