Commercial Arbitration in Resolving Land-Related Disputes

October 22, 2025

1. Understanding Land Disputes: Does Commercial Arbitration Have Jurisdiction?

Land disputes refer to conflicts or disagreements concerning rights and obligations among parties involved in land relations, commonly arising over land-use rights, boundaries, or interests derived from land-related transactions.

The legal basis for this definition is provided in Clause 47, Article 3 of the 2024 Land Law, which stipulates as follows:

“A land dispute is a dispute over the rights and obligations of land users between two or more parties in a land relationship.”

Pursuant to Article 236 of the 2024 Land Law, which provides for the competence to resolve land disputes, Clause 5 of this Article specifies the jurisdiction of commercial arbitration as follows:

“Disputes between parties arising from commercial activities related to land shall be resolved either by the courts in accordance with the provisions of the law on civil procedure or by Vietnamese commercial arbitration in accordance with the provisions of the law on commercial arbitration.”

2. Types of Land – Related Disputes under the Jurisdiction of Commercial Arbitration

Based on the legal grounds referenced in Section 1, Vietnamese commercial arbitration has jurisdiction to resolve disputes arising between parties from commercial activities related to land, in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Commercial Arbitration. Accordingly, to facilitate the dispute resolution process, the People’s Committees at all levels are responsible for providing procedural support by supplying relevant records and documents concerning land management and use. Such information shall be provided upon the formal request of the arbitral tribunal, serving as essential legal and factual evidence for the Arbitral Tribunal in resolving disputes arising from commercial activities involving land.

Specifically, land-related disputes falling under the jurisdiction of commercial arbitration include contractual and business transaction disputes in which land use rights or real estate constitute the object of the transaction. Some examples include:

Disputes over real estate project transfers: These arise from contracts for the sale or transfer of all or part of housing, urban, or commercial projects. Issues typically concern payment obligations, delayed handover, or contractual penalty clauses.
Disputes over investment and business cooperation contracts: These involve joint venture or capital contribution agreements for real estate development, where land use rights are treated as contributed capital assets. The disputes often focus on profit distribution, fulfillment of investment obligations, or the allocation of rights and responsibilities among the cooperating parties.
Disputes over land/real estate lease or lease–purchase contracts: These occur in long-term land lease transactions for purposes such as production, business operations, construction of factories, or leasing offices and warehouses. Common points of contention include rental price, lease duration, or breaches of land-use terms.
Disputes over construction contracts: These include disputes between investors and contractors arising during the construction of works attached to land, focusing on issues such as construction quality, additional costs, and project progress on the construction site.

3. Conditions for Resolving Land-Related Disputes through Commercial Arbitration

According to Article 5 of the Law on Commercial Arbitration regarding the conditions for dispute resolution by arbitration, the provision is as follows:

“1. A dispute shall be resolved by arbitration if the parties have an arbitration agreement. Such arbitration agreement may be made before or after the dispute arises.

2. In cases where a party to the arbitration agreement is an individual who dies or loses legal capacity, the arbitration agreement shall remain valid for his or her heirs or legal representative, unless otherwise agreed by the parties.

3. In cases where a party to the arbitration agreement is an organization that has ceased operations, become bankrupt, been dissolved, merged, consolidated, divided, separated, or converted into another form, the arbitration agreement shall remain valid for the organization succeeding to the rights and obligations of that party, unless otherwise agreed by the parties.”

The condition for resolving land-related disputes through commercial arbitration lies in the arbitration agreement established in the parties’ contract in accordance with the above provision. The arbitration agreement may be concluded before or after the dispute arises, serving as a legal basis to determine the jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal. At the same time, the regulation reflects the binding nature of this agreement, which remains valid even when there is a change in the parties; it continues to have effect on the heirs of individuals or the successor organizations in cases of merger, dissolution, or bankruptcy. Therefore, the existence and validity of the arbitration agreement are decisive factors in legitimizing the settlement of land-related disputes at the Arbitration Center.

4. Why choose to resolve these disputes through commercial arbitration?

Using arbitration to settle commercially related disputes concerning land is not the only available option, but it is a choice that should be prioritized. In practice, arbitration has become increasingly common among consumers, particularly businesses, as it offers distinct advantages in resolving disputes arising from commercial activities.

The parties to land-related contracts generally include at least one or more entities engaging in commercial purposes; therefore, arbitration is an appropriate choice when disputes occur. Its procedural flexibility and expeditious nature help save considerable time and costs for the parties involved.

Furthermore, one of arbitration’s outstanding advantages is that hearings are not conducted publicly. This confidentiality allows businesses to protect their information, maintain their reputation in the market, and avoid negative publicity that could adversely affect their commercial operations.

5. Mechanisms for Resolving Disputes through the Bigboss International Arbitration Center (BBIAC)

To resolve a dispute through commercial arbitration at BBIAC, clients may insert one of the following two clauses into their contracts:

5.1. Model Arbitration Clause

Additionally, the parties may supplement the clause with:

(a) The number of arbitrators shall be [one or three].

(b) The seat of arbitration shall be [city and/or country].

(c) The governing law of the contract shall be [ ].*

(d) The language of the arbitration shall be [ ].**

Notes:

* Applicable only to disputes involving a foreign element.

** Applicable only to disputes involving a foreign element or disputes where at least one party is an enterprise with foreign invested capital.

5.2. Model Arbitration Clause Applicable to Expedited Procedure

“Any dispute arising out of or in connection with this contract shall be settled by arbitration at the BIGBOSS International Commercial Arbitration Center (BBIAC) in accordance with the Arbitration Rules of Procedure of this Center. The Parties agree that the arbitration proceedings shall be conducted under the Expedited Procedure stipulated in Article 37 of the BBIAC Arbitration Rules of Procedure.”

Additionally, the parties may supplement the clause with:

(a) The seat of arbitration shall be [city and/or country].

(b) The governing law of the contract shall be [ ].*

(c) The language of the arbitration shall be [ ].**

Notes:

* Applicable only to disputes involving a foreign element.

** Applicable only to disputes involving a foreign element or disputes where at least one party is an enterprise with foreign invested capital.

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