The Court’s Verdict Ignored

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Khanh, Deputy Director of Thai Binh Forest Development Company Limited (Thai Binh Company), has recently filed a criminal complaint with the Investigative Agency of the Supreme People’s Procuracy and the NLD Newspaper, requesting clarification on the violations committed by the Khanh Hoa Department of Natural Resources and Environment (now the Department of Agriculture and Environment) and related individuals and organizations in relation to enforcement procedures.

In 2018, the People’s Committee of Khanh Hoa Province issued a decision to lease 1,269,872 square meters of land in Phuoc Dong commune, Nha Trang city, to Thai Binh Company for a forest development project, with a land use duration of 50 years. Subsequently, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Khanh Hoa signed a land lease agreement with the company. However, during the implementation process, overlaps arose with the land area used by households, preventing the Department from completing the land certificate issuance procedures.

Thai Binh Company filed a lawsuit against the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Khanh Hoa. At the appellate trial in March 2022, the Da Nang High Court ruled that the Department must accept and resolve the land transfer procedures for the company. More than three years have passed since then, and although the Civil Judgment Enforcement Bureau and the Khanh Hoa Provincial Procuracy have requested the Department to enforce the judgment, the Department has failed to do so and has issued a notice of refusal to resolve the matter. The Department argued that the land is currently being used by others, and it can only be transferred to another organization after the competent authority revokes the land and completes compensation and site clearance.

According to the Khanh Hoa Provincial Procuracy, this reason is inconsistent with the fact that the Provincial People’s Committee’s decision to lease the land to Thai Binh Company is enforceable, and the court has considered the fact that households are using the land, so there is no basis for acceptance.

At a meeting on July 21, 2023, to report on the enforcement of the appellate judgment and resolve the petition of Thai Binh Company, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee of Khanh Hoa, Tran Hoa Nam, instructed the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to consider revoking the notice of refusal to enforce the judgment and promptly fulfill the obligations stipulated in the court’s ruling. However, in September 2024, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Khanh Hoa once again issued a notice of refusal to resolve the case for Thai Binh Company.

In an interview with NLD reporters, Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Khanh Hoa, stated that according to Article 53 of the 2013 Land Law, the Provincial People’s Committee’s decision to lease land to Thai Binh Company while the land is being used by local residents is inappropriate. Therefore, the Department reported to the Provincial People’s Committee, recommending not to issue a land use right certificate to Thai Binh Company until the company completes compensation and site clearance.

Ms. Lan argued that the appellate judgment only addressed the administrative act, compelling the Department to perform the administrative act of receiving and resolving the land transfer procedures for Thai Binh Company, without deciding on whether to transfer the land or not. The Department has received, processed, and executed the appellate judgment.

In March 2025, the Supreme People’s Procuracy issued a document to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Khanh Hoa, stating that the Department had conducted an appraisal and on-site inspection and signed a land lease agreement with Thai Binh Company in 2018. The subsequent discovery of land overlaps and the inability to issue a land use right certificate as stipulated by regulations are due to the Department’s failure to fully fulfill its responsibilities. The Department must continue to consider the next steps in transferring the land to Thai Binh Company.