Disputes concerning the enforcement of agreed-upon obligations.

I. Summary of the case

Previously in 2002, Mr. C and Mr. H signed a contract to transfer 03 plots of land in Cu Chi district, Ho Chi Minh City. Mr. H bought the land from the landowners and is completing the paperwork to resell it as follows:

+ Lot 1: area 3,000 m2

+ Lot 2: area 500 m2

+ Lot 3: 2000 m2 of residential land

The total value of the 3 plots of land at that time was two billion VND. Mr. C had paid the full amount of 2 billion VND to Mr. H in January 2004 with the agreement that he would receive the full land two months later. However, Mr. H had only given Mr. C two plots with an area of ​​3,500 m2. Mr. H said he would like to delay the remaining 2,000 m2 plot of land until the landowner completed the paperwork before selling.

To ensure that Mr. C and Mr. H had signed a “Contract Termination Agreement in 2004” in which Mr. H confirmed that he had handed over the remaining plot of land to Mr. C.

However, Mr. H later cut off contact with Mr. C even though Mr. C had searched for him many times but could not meet him. Later, in 2016, while working at the authorities, Mr. H committed to handing over to Mr. C another plot of land with the same value and area of ​​2,000 m2. The deadline was until the end of 2018 to hand over the land. However, by the end of 2018, the deadline had expired and Mr. H continued not to hand over the land. Up to now, the value of the 2,000 m2 plot of land ^mentioned above, if calculated according to market price, is 5 million VND/m2, ^equivalent to: million VND/m2 ^x  2,000 m2 ⁼ 10 billion VND. The value of this 2,000 ^m2   of land in 2002 was five hundred million VND.

Seeing that Mr. H did not fulfill his commitment, Mr. C asked lawyer Inter Justice to protect his rights.

II. Legal basis

• Freedom and voluntary commitment to agreements are fundamental principles of civil law; in this case, Mr. H voluntarily made a commitment to Mr. C before the authorities.

• Mr. C has the right to claim back the money Mr. H received but did not perform the work.
• The amount recovered may include interest, or be calculated based on the equivalent value of the land.
• Mr. C has the right to claim back the money and request Mr. H to compensate for damages.

III. Lawyer’s viewpoint and solution

• Lawyer Inter Justice represented Mr. C in filing a lawsuit against Mr. H in Court to request performance of the committed obligation. If the committed obligation is not performed, the money received must be returned with interest or the money must be paid at a price equivalent to the land area.
• Freedom and voluntary commitment and agreement are fundamental principles of civil law, forming the basis for establishing and exercising the civil rights and obligations of individuals. The agreement Mr. H made to exchange a plot of land of the same value and area (2000 m2) with Mr. C, promising to deliver it by the end of 2018, is a final and legally binding agreement. Because Mr. H freely and voluntarily committed and agreed with Mr. C, this commitment and agreement is valid and must be respected by other parties. Furthermore, Mr. H received money from Mr. C a long time ago but failed to fulfill his obligation to deliver the land.
• Mr. H did not benefit without justification. Meanwhile, the 500 million dong he received from Mr. C a long time ago was due to Mr. H’s commitment to exchange it for a plot of land of the same value and area (2000 m² ⁾ . Therefore, the 500 million dong in 2002 was equivalent to the value of 2000 m² of land ^at that time. The current actual value of land in Cu Chi District corresponding to 2000 m² is 10 billion dong. Since the money was received more than 20 years ago, and the value is equivalent, Mr. H is obligated to return 10 billion dong to Mr. C.
• In the event that Mr. H does not pay the money but the land is returned to Mr. C as per the agreement, since this is a unilateral and voluntary commitment in a civil transaction, and this commitment does not violate the law or social ethics, it is legally binding on Mr. H. The land transfer is carried out through the land use rights transfer procedure, because fulfilling this commitment serves as a substitute for Mr. H’s obligation to repay the money to Mr. C. When carrying out the land use rights transfer procedure, the parties are not required to pay the transfer value, but must fulfill their tax and fee obligations to the state as stipulated by law.

IV. Court Judgment

The case is currently on trial, we will inform you about the Court’s decision.