Arbitration's Jurisdiction Over Non-Disclosure And Non-Compete Agreement

On February 19^th, 2018, the Vietnam International Arbitration Center (VIAC) issued Arbitral Award No.75/17 HCM (Arbitral Award 75) concerning a dispute over a Non-Disclosure and Non-Compete Agreement (NDA) between Company X (plaintiff - employer) and Ms. Do Thi Mai T (defendant - employee).According to Arbitral Award 75, the VIAC made a judgment in favor of Company X and compelled the employee to compensate Company X for her violation of the signed NDA.The employee did not agree with Arbitral Award 75 of the VIAC and filed a lawsuit in the People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City (HCM Court) requesting to overturn Arbitral Award 75 in its entirety claiming, amongst other arguments, that "the dispute was outside the jurisdiction of the Arbitration Tribunal".On June 12^th, 2018, the HCM Court issued Decision No.755/2018/QD-PQTT (Decision 755) rejecting the employee's request to negate Arbitral Award 75.The HCM Court's decision raises several issues as to whether the VIAC