Abstract

This article examines the defendant’s place of residence and registered office as connecting factors for establishing international jurisdiction in foreign-related business and commercial disputes. It focuses on points (a) and (b) of Article 469(1) of Vietnam’s 2015 Civil Procedure Code and considers their relationship with relevant civil, commercial, and procedural laws. Employing doctrinal and comparative legal analysis, the study draws on the laws of the European Union, Japan, and China to clarify the interpretation of the phrase “residing, conducting business, or living on a long-term basis”; the relationship between a legal entity’s registered office and its branches or representative offices; and the distinction between international jurisdiction and domestic territorial jurisdiction. Based on its findings, the article proposes recommendations for refining jurisdictional connecting factors and improving the coordination of different grounds for jurisdiction.

Keywords: Branch, Civil Procedure Code, defendant’s place of residence, defendant’s registered office, foreign- related business and commercial disputes, international jurisdiction, representative office, Vietnamese courts.