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### Viewing cable 03HANOI199, VIETNAM: ONE STEP FORWARD, TWO STEPS BACK - TYCO

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
03HANOI199 | 2003-01-24 09:10 | 2011-08-25 00:00 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Embassy Hanoi

`

    This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

` `

    UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 HANOI 000199

    SIPDIS

    SENSITIVE

    STATE PASS USTR FOR DUSTR HUNTSMAN AND EBRYAN
    USDOC ALSO FOR 6500 AND 4431/MAC/AP/OKSA/VLC/HPPHO
    TREASURY FOR OASIA

    E.O. 12958: N/A
    TAGS: EINV ECON ETRD VM
    SUBJECT: VIETNAM: ONE STEP FORWARD, TWO STEPS BACK - TYCO
    SERVICES LOSES APPEAL ON ARBITRAL AWARD ENFORCEMENT

    SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - HANDLE ACCORDINGLY

    ¶1.  (SBU) Summary: On January 21, 2003, the Vietnamese
    Supreme Court reversed a May 2002 landmark decision by the
    Ho Chi Minh City Economic Court that would have recognized
    an international arbitral award for the first time in that
    city.  The Mission has been assisting Tyco Services
    Singapore since 2001 in its attempts to get two awards
    enforced in Vietnam.  Mission has also worked with the
    Ministry of Justice, which had reviewed the case and issued
    an advisory opinion to the Courts in support of Tyco's
    position.  The case was perhaps deceptively simple - the
    court was asked to enforce a legitimate international
    arbitration award, not reopen or reargue the original
    dispute.  However, at the real heart of this case is the
    current lack of understanding at the highest judicial levels
    of modern, market-based normal business transactions as well
    as a continuing lack of transparency.
    ¶2.  (SBU) Summary cont'd:  The Supreme Court's reversal is
    particularly disheartening in light of the earlier decision
    by the HCMC Economic Court, which helped Vietnam garner much
    positive international press and good will last summer.  In
    fact, the presiding judge from the Economic Court presented
    a case-study at a USG-sponsored seminar that brought
    together all Supreme Court judges from around the country to
    discuss their important role in Vietnamese legal reform and
    implementation of the BTA.  Clearly, this decision, whether
    overturned on review or not, will have a negative impact on
    Vietnam's international reputation and its ability to
    attract foreign investment.  It casts further doubt on the
    transparency and fairness of the legal process and raises
    additional questions about Vietnam's ability to live up to
    its obligations under the U.S.-Vietnam Bilateral Trade
    agreement and the New York Convention.  Mission recommends
    that this issue be raised in the context of the BTA Joint
    Committee meeting, not to argue the merits of the case but
    to stress our expectation that U.S. businesses will be
    treated fairly by the Judicial system and that international
    commitments will be respected.  End Summary.

    BACKGROUND ON THE CASE AND THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT

    ¶3. (SBU) The Mission has been working with Tyco Services
    Singapore Pte Ltd., a subsidiary of U.S. firm Tyco
    International regarding Tyco's attempts to get two
    Australian arbitral awards enforced in Vietnam. We had also
    consulted the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) to express our
    interest and concerns regarding the case, the absolute need
    for transparency of the hearing and the decision making
    process, and the need for a full and fair hearing for the
    U.S. company, especially in light of Vietnam's commitments
    in the U.S.-Vietnam Bilateral Trade agreement (BTA).  The
    Ministry of Justice had reviewed the case and had issued an
    advisory opinion to the HCMC Court in support of Tyco's
    position.  The case was perhaps deceptively simple - the
    courts were asked to enforce a legitimate international
    arbitration award, not reopen, review, or reargue the
    original case.

    ¶4.  (SBU) However, at the real heart of this case is the
    current lack of understanding of modern, market-based normal
    business transactions by a generally unprepared and
    untrained legal and judicial system.  The Vietnamese
    judiciary consists of the Supreme People's Court, the local
    people's courts, military tribunals, and other tribunals
    established by law. The Supreme Court, which has three
    regional seats - Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Danang - is
    the highest court of appeal and review.  The Ministry of
    Justice administers most district and provincial courts, and
    the National Assembly administers the Supreme Court. The
    judiciary also has Economic Courts and other specialized
    courts that resolve disputes in specific fields.  The
    Economic Courts have addressed few cases since their
    creation in 1995.  Cases are rarely appealed to the Supreme
    Court, where the judges have little experience and training
    in economics, trade and finance.  In fact, most judges and
    lawyers received their legal training in Socialist legal
    systems and are ill-equipped to deal with market-based
    concepts.  In particular, the distinction between trade in
    goods and trade in services is not well understood in
    Vietnam.  The MOJ attempted to clarify for the courts both
    this difference as well as Vietnam's obligations under the
    UN Convention of the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign
    Arbitral awards (the New York Convention). (Vietnam is not
    yet a party to ICSID, but we are actively working with the
    GVN towards this goal in which the GVN has expressed
    interest.)

    ¶5. (SBU) In 1995, Tyco had provided construction services
    for the Furama Resort Hotel in Danang for Hai Van Thiess
    (HVT), now know as Leighton Contractors Ltd, an Australian-
    Vietnamese joint venture construction company.  Tyco never
    received full payment and went to arbitration in Queensland,
    Australia as specified in their agreement with HVT.  In
    2000, Tyco won that case, as well as a subsequent appeal by
    HVT in Australia.  When HVT refused to pay the arbitral
    award ($2.2 million), Tyco filed an application in 2001 with
    the Vietnamese Ministry of Justice to have the award
    enforced in Vietnam under the Ordinance on Recognition and
    Enforcement of Foreign Arbitration Awards.  MOJ sent the
    case to Danang.  However, in July 2001, the Danang Court
    determined that it did not have the authority to hear the
    case because the company, HVT, had moved its headquarters to
    HCMC, reorganized its ownership and renamed the firm
    Leighton Contractors.  In August 2001, MOJ sent the case to
    the Economic Court of the HCMC People's Court.

    THE FIRST CASE - THE GOOD..

    ¶6.  (SBU) Tyco finally had its day in court in May 2002.  In
    its petition to the court to reject Tyco's claim,
    HVT/Leighton attempted to reopen the validity of the
    original arbitral award.  They argued that the application
    for enforcement be denied based on the allegation that the
    original Consortium agreement was invalid because it had not
    been certified by the Ministry of Planning and Investment
    (MPI), Tyco did not have license for foreign contractors
    from the Ministry of Construction, the consortium agreement
    was not a "commercial" agreement and so was not governed by
    the Ordinance on Economic Contracts or the Ordinance Foreign
    Arbitration, the Queensland arbitrator had violated
    procedures in settling the claims, and finally, the arbiters
    were biased and unfair.

    ¶7.  (U) In its clear, well-written, and focused May
    decision, the HCMC Economic Court looked at each of these
    issues in a fair and legalistic manner.  The Judges Panel
    confirmed that under the Arbitration ordinance, they were
    not allowed to re-arbitrate the dispute and thus dismissed
    the argument that the agreement was invalid.  However, the
    Court went further in its decision and explored the argument
    on its merits.  HVT/Leighton argued that the agreement was
    invalid because the Ministry of Planning and Investment
    (MPI) had not certified it and Tyco did not have the legal
    capacity to sign because it did not have a license for
    foreign contractors issued by the Ministry of Construction.
    This argument hinges on an interpretation of the Ordinance
    on Economic Contracts, which only covers agreements signed
    between Vietnamese entities and foreign organizations in
    Vietnam.  As the agreement was for construction services, it
    was not necessary for Tyco to have a presence in Vietnam.
    The Panel found that the agreement was not governed by the
    Ordinance since Tyco did not have offices in Vietnam.
    Therefore, the agreement could not be found invalid under
    that law.  Going further, they found that even if the
    Ordinance did apply, the agreement clearly stated that the
    agreement would be interpreted and governed by Queensland
    law in the case of disputes.  Finally, even if Vietnamese
    civil law did apply, HVT would have had to take Tyco to
    court within one year of its signing in order to have the
    agreement invalidated.  Thus, the court ruled that Leighton,
    on its own, cannot declare the agreement to be invalid in
    order to avoid enforcement in Vietnam.

    ¶8.  (U) The second argument that the agreement was not a
    "commercial relationship" and thus the arbitral award could
    not be recognized or enforced in Vietnam.(previous sentence
    is missing a verb or something)  This point is more
    technical.  However, in sum, HVT referred to a definition in
    the 1998 Commercial law that the Panel ruled it did not
    apply in this case, because it was not in effect at the time
    the agreement was signed.

    ¶9. (U) The third argument that the Queensland arbitrator had
    violated procedures in settling the claims was based on a
    claim by HVT/Leighton that a decision by the arbiters had
    added a clause to the agreement related to bank guarantees.
    However, the Panel determined that this argument relates to
    the substance of the dispute, and the Panel did not have the
    authority to re-arbitrate the dispute.

    ¶10. (U) Regarding the fourth argument that the arbitral
    decision was biased and unfair toward HVT/Leighton, the
    Panel examined the arguments and found that the charge was
    groundless and that the awards were issued in accordance
    with Australian law, per the agreement.  Thus, HVT/Leighton
    was instructed to pay the award.  HVT/Leighton promptly
    filed an appeal to the Supreme Court.

    THE SECOND CASE - THE BAD?

    ¶11.  (SBU) The appeal of the Economic Court's decision was
    originally scheduled to be heard before the Supreme Court in
    HCMC on August 27, 2002.  However, HVT/Leighton succeeded in
    obtaining delays by changing lawyers several times, dragging
    it out by almost 6 months.  The Embassy weighed in with the
    Ministry of Justice to express our concern over the delays
    and the fact that the Court had actually exceeded its normal
    statutory time to hear the case.  When the case was finally
    heard on January 21, 2003, the Supreme Court overturned the
    earlier decision by the Economic Court, finding that the
    arbitral award was not enforceable in Vietnam.

    ¶12.  (SBU) Although we do not yet have the written decision,
    EconOff HCMC attended the January 21 appeal hearing and
    provided a preliminary readout of the proceeding.  The
    presiding judge stated in the initial oral decision that -
    contrary to the lower court's decision - the court did not
    have the authority to enforce the arbitral award due to two
    factors.  First, Tyco failed to apply for a license from the
    GVN for its activities in Vietnam during the relevant
    period.  Therefore, it was operating outside the body of
    commercial law that could be used to enforce the award (N.B.
    We assume he means that Tyco, as a sub-contractor for
    services, was not covered under HVT/Leighton's construction
    license).  In particular, under Vietnamese law, Tyco's scope
    of work fell under "construction" rather than "commercial"
    (i.e. service) activity, requiring a separate foreign
    contractor's license.  Thus the Panel apparently ruled in
    favor of HVT/Leighton's original argument (see above) and
    found the agreement invalid, and thus unenforceable, under
    Vietnamese law.  In essence, they ignored the arbitral award
    and re-arbitrated part of the original case.  They also
    apparently largely ignored the MOJ's advisory opinion.

    AND THE UGLY.

    ¶13.  (SBU) Tyco's local attorneys told Econoff HCMC that
    they were offered an opportunity to "become a friend of the
    court."  (N.B. We assume that's codeword for a payoff.)
    They declined the offer (but would not supply specifics as
    to who approached them) and lost the case.  The local
    attorneys believe - not provable, they note - that Leighton
    took up a similar offer.  The lawyers stressed that only
    strong political pressure can counterweigh any payoff that
    they believe was made. (Embassy Note:  In December when we
    were discussing our approach to the GVN on this issue, the
    local lawyers pushed hard for the Embassy to write to the
    Prime Minister, i.e. a political approach.  It was and is
    our position that in light of our attempts to reform the
    judicial system in Vietnam, such an approach that bypassed -
    and urged the GVN to bypass - normal legal channels was
    inappropriate.  We addressed this as a legal issue with the
    Ministry of Justice, which we knew was also in agreement on
    the legal facts of the case. End note.)

    ¶14.  (SBU) However, Tyco's Hanoi-based representative was
    disappointed that their local lawyers had missed several
    important opportunities to clarify the legal nuances before
    the Supreme Court.  He noted that he "could have done a
    better job (of lawyering) himself."  (HCMC Econoff likewise
    was unimpressed by the Tyco attorneys' performance in
    court.)  For example, when the Panel raised the issue of
    whether Tyco required a license, the lawyers did not refute
    the assumption that a license was necessary (as the Economic
    Court had).  Instead, the lawyer replied that Leighton
    should have told them if it were necessary.  A more
    responsive answer arguing the law might have allayed some of
    the court's concerns.

    SUPREME COURT DECISION MAY BE REVIEWED

    ¶15. (U)  Although, the Supreme Court is the final Court of
    Appeal in Vietnam, the MOJ confirms information conveyed to
    Econ FSN by one local judicial contact:  Tyco can still
    petition the case's review by senior judges in Hanoi.
    However, review is case by case, and there is no mechanism
    for automatic review.

    ¶16. (SBU) Tyco clearly regards the decision as a major
    setback.  As Tyco reviews its options, it has asked for
    further Mission assistance in urging the GVN to enforce the
    arbitral award.  We will review with Tyco their analysis of
    the Supreme Court decision, in light of the earlier Economic
    Court decision, and explore appropriate options for action.

    COMMENT

    ¶17.  (SBU) This decision is particularly disheartening in
    light of the earlier and much touted decision by the HCMC
    Economic Court.  Vietnam garnered much positive
    international press and good will last summer regarding this
    landmark case, the first international arbitral award to be
    enforced in Vietnam.  (N.B.  There are several other cases
    before the Hanoi Courts but none is final or involves a U.S.
    company.) For once, Vietnam was praised for a legal
    decision. In fact, the presiding judge from the HCMC
    Economic Court was invited by the GVN to present a case-
    study at a USAID-STAR project seminar that brought together
    Supreme Court judges from around the country to review legal
    reform and BTA implementation.  When the Ambassador
    addressed the Supreme Court judges at the opening of the
    seminar, he stressed their important role in Vietnamese
    legal reform and implementation of the BTA.

    ¶18. (SBU) Clearly, this decision, whether overturned on
    review or not, will have a negative impact on Vietnam's
    international reputation and its ability to attract foreign
    investment.  It casts further doubts on the transparency and
    fairness of the legal process and also raises additional
    questions on Vietnam's ability to live up to its obligations
    under the BTA Investment Chapter.  International arbitration
    clauses are a key component of any business contract signed
    by foreign parties in Vietnam.  The Tyco case was the first
    "successful" attempt by a U.S. firm to have an international
    arbitral award enforced in Vietnam.   The high court's
    ruling - for whatever reason - will certainly cause many
    here and abroad to rate Vietnam a bit higher on the
    commercial risk scale.

    ¶19.  (SBU) Mission recommends that this issue be raised in
    the context of the BTA Joint Committee meeting, not to argue
    the merits of the case but to stress our expectation that
    U.S. businesses will be treated fairly by the Judicial
    system and that international commitments will be respected.
    PORTER

`