欧盟多边投资法院：动因、可行性及挑战

EU’s proposal for multilateral investment court: Motivation, feasibility and challenges ahead

投资者-国家争端解决机制(ISDS)近年来在世界范围内引发了激烈的批评与争论。欧盟的多边投资法院(MIC)是针对现有ISDS机制的系统性缺陷提出的最彻底的改革方案。从其制度安排来看,MIC更能确保裁决的一致性与正确性、保证法官的独立性与公正性以及节约案件审理的时间与费用。然而,MIC在制度设计上的不足以及各方对ISDS机制改革的深刻分歧使得建立MIC面临诸多挑战。中国应当抓住ISDS机制多边化改革的契机,参与MIC谈判,为将来的国际投资争端解决机制贡献中国智慧。

The Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) has triggered a backlash and heated debate in recent years. The European Union’s proposal for Multilateral Investment Court (MIC) is the most radical reform proposal directed at the systemic flaws of existing ISDS. Due to the institutional arrangement, MIC could guarantee the consistency and correctness of decisions and ensure adjudicators’ independence and impartiality. Furthermore, MIC will lead to a reduction of the cost and duration of proceedings. However, the establishment of MIC will face many challenges because of the deficiency in its system design and huge disagreements between countries. China should make use of the good opportunity to take part in multilateral reform of ISDS and MIC negotiations, as well as providing “Chinese Wisdom” for future international investment dispute mechanism.