Time limit for appeal in case the Court suspends the settlement of the case due to the parties withdrawing all claims and counterclaims

Time limit for appeal in case the Court suspends the settlement of the case due to the withdrawal of all lawsuits and counterclaims

14/10/2025 10:46

When the plaintiff or defendant withdraws the lawsuit or counterclaim at the trial, the Court will base on Point c, Clause 1, Article 217 of the Civil Procedure Code to issue a decision to suspend the settlement of the case. However, in practice, there are some problems in determining the time limit for appeal for this type of decision: does the litigant have the right to appeal within 15 days as for the first instance judgment, or must it comply with the 07-day time limit prescribed for suspension decisions?

The article focuses on analyzing relevant legal provisions, giving practical examples, highlighting shortcomings and making recommendations for improvement to ensure effective enforcement of the proceedings and better protect the legitimate rights and interests of the litigants in the case.

1. Legal regulations on the time limit for appeal and some issues raised

Clause 1, Article 273 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code (CPC) stipulates:
“1. The time limit for appeal against the judgment of the Court of First Instance is 15 days from the date of judgment; for litigants, representatives of agencies, organizations or individuals who are not present at the trial or are not present when the judgment is pronounced but have legitimate reasons, the time limit for appeal is calculated from the date they receive the judgment or the judgment is posted…”.
For cases where litigants, representatives of agencies, organizations or individuals who are present at the trial but are absent when the Court pronounces the judgment without legitimate reasons, the time limit for appeal is calculated from the date of judgment.

Clause 2, Article 273 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code stipulates as follows:
“2. The time limit for appeal against the decision to temporarily suspend or suspend the settlement of the case by the Court of First Instance is 07 days from the date the litigant, agency, organization or individual filing the lawsuit receives the decision or from the date the decision is posted according to the provisions of this Code.”.
Thus, in practice, there is a situation where the plaintiff withdraws all the lawsuit and counterclaim requests at the first instance trial. According to Point c, Clause 1, Article 217 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code, the Court will issue a decision to suspend the settlement of the case. However, the question is: is the appeal period applicable in this case 07 days according to Clause 2, or 15 days according to Clause 1, Article 273 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code?
In essence, when the Court issues a decision to suspend because the litigant withdraws the entire request, this is not a judgment but a decision according to the provisions of Article 217 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code. Therefore, the basis for determining the appeal period will be Clause 2, Article 273 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code with a period of 07 days.

However, in practice, there are still some opinions that because the withdrawal of the request is made at the trial, it is reasonable to apply the 15-day period as for the judgment. This understanding potentially poses risks to the litigants' right to appeal.

2. Practical application of the law

To clarify the content the author mentioned above, the author would like to present a specific legal situation as follows:
On March 20, 2024, the People's Court of District X accepted civil case No. 34/2024/DS-ST on the matter of: "Dispute over land use rights transfer contract" between the plaintiff, Ms. B, and the defendant, Mr. C. At the trial on June 10, 2024, Ms. B withdrew all claims and Mr. C also withdrew all counterclaims. The Trial Panel issued Decision No. 34/2024/QDST-DS on the same day to suspend the settlement of case No. 34/2024/QDST-DS.
On June 20, 2024, Mr. C filed an appeal on the grounds that he withdrew the counterclaim due to "psychological coercion", requesting the Court of Appeal to cancel the suspension decision.

However, the People's Court of District X later did not accept the appeal because it believed that the appeal period was only 07 days, calculated from June 10, 2024, so it had expired according to Clause 2, Article 273 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code.
With the content of the above situation, there are a number of different understandings and applications of the appeal period for the decision to suspend the settlement of the case because the litigant withdrew all requests at the trial. Below are three common groups of views:
The first group of views: believes that because the suspension decision is issued within the framework of the first instance trial, with the participation of the Trial Panel, the prosecutor and publicly announced to the litigants, it is essentially similar to a first instance judgment. Therefore, the appeal period is 15 days according to Clause 1, Article 273 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code.
Second view: holds that the decision to suspend the settlement of a case, whether issued in court or outside the court, is still a procedural decision, not a judgment. Therefore, only the 07-day period according to Clause 2, Article 273 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code can be applied. The issuance at the court does not change the legal nature of that decision.
Third view: determines that if the litigant is not clearly informed of the appeal period, the direction that is favorable to them should be applied, accepting the appeal if it is still within 15 days from the date of judgment. This view stems from the need to protect the right to appeal to the maximum extent possible - a fundamental procedural right of the litigant.

The existence of different interpretations shows that there needs to be a consensus through the written response of the Council of Judges of the Supreme People's Court, or the issuance of precedents on this issue. While waiting for official guidance, the Courts need to strengthen their explanations at the trial and the minutes of the trial need to clearly state the time limit and the right to appeal against the suspension decision to avoid disputes arising.

In the author's opinion from the practice of monitoring and directly supporting the trial work at the Court, the author believes that the application of the 07-day appeal period according to Clause 2, Article 273 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code to the decision to suspend the settlement of the case due to the parties withdrawing all requests is completely consistent with the legal nature of this type of decision.

The assumption that the 15-day period is applied because the decision to suspend the issuance at the “trial” is a procedural interpretation, which is not consistent with the classification of judgments and decisions in the 2015 Civil Procedure Code. Without a unified understanding and official guidance from the competent authority, it is easy to lead to a situation where the litigant loses the right to appeal due to confusion, or the Court refuses to accept the appeal on the grounds of being overdue, affecting the legitimate rights of citizens.
Therefore, the author recommends that during the trial, the Trial Panel should clearly explain to the litigant the nature of the issued decision and the corresponding appeal period, especially in trials where the litigant voluntarily withdraws the request. In addition, the Secretary should clearly state this content in the minutes

3. Recommendations and suggestions for improvement

To overcome the above problems, the author would like to propose some specific solutions as follows:
3.1. Legal and professional guidance
- The Supreme People's Court should promptly issue a document explaining professional matters or a unified precedent on determining the time limit for appeal against the decision to suspend the settlement of a case in case the litigant withdraws all requests at the trial.
- The Civil Procedure Code should be amended and supplemented to be more clear on determining the time limit for appeal for each type of decision, especially decisions declared at the trial but not having the nature of a judgment.
3.2. Regarding trial practice and secretarial work
- The trial panel should clearly explain to the litigant right at the trial about the type of decision issued (procedural decision or judgment) and the specific time limit for appeal.
- The minutes of the trial should clearly state the content of the notice of the right to appeal, including the time limit and legal basis to ensure transparency and limit future litigation disputes.
3.3. Regarding training and professional development
Increase training for Judges, Clerks and Examiners on special cases in civil proceedings, helping to accurately identify the legal nature of each type of procedural document to correctly apply the law and ensure the rights of litigants.

4. Conclusion

Determining the correct appeal period is not only a matter of procedural technique but also directly related to the basic procedural rights of the litigants. In the context of many inconsistent understandings and applications as at present, there needs to be a timely response from the Supreme People's Court to unify the perception and practice of adjudication nationwide.
Regarding the decision to suspend the settlement of the case due to the litigant withdrawing all requests at the trial, the author agrees with the viewpoint of applying the appeal period of 07 days according to Clause 2, Article 273 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code, because this is a procedural decision, not a judgment. However, to avoid disputes and protect the legitimate procedural rights of the parties, it is especially necessary to clearly explain and fully record in the minutes of the trial.
An effective civil procedural system is not only based on the provisions of the law but also depends on the correct understanding and consistent application of the law in practice. Therefore, there needs to be close coordination between the agencies conducting the proceedings to ensure that justice is not only enforced but also understood and trusted.

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