经济制裁对国际投资仲裁的影响——基于ISDS实践的分析

The Impact of Economic Sanctions on Investor-State Arbitration: Based on Analysis of the ISDS Practice

近年来,经济制裁的使用频率大幅上升,并与国际投资法产生越来越多的交集。涉经济制裁的国际投资仲裁案件数量急剧上升,引发诸多法律疑难问题。实践表明,仲裁庭可能因投资违反联合国制裁而拒绝管辖和受理争端,裁决亦可能因制裁而无法顺利执行。此外,经济制裁是否违反投资保护的实体待遇标准,东道国能否援引条约中的国家安全例外,或以习惯国际法中的不可抗力、紧急措施、反措施规则予以抗辩,均存在较大的不确定性。在投资保护与经济制裁的价值冲突和效力等级方面,联合国制裁属于国际公共政策,其效力高于投资条约义务,而单边制裁则不然。涉经济制裁投资仲裁案件的不断积累,将有助于澄清国际投资法体系和经济制裁体系之间的模糊关系。在国际立法缺位的当下,投资仲裁可作为约束或制衡经济制裁的有效武器之一。

The use of economic sanctions has increased significantly in recent years and is increasingly intertwined with international investment law. The number of Investor-State Arbitration cases involving economic sanctions has risen sharply, raising a number of difficult legal questions. The tribunal may deem investor’s conduct of violating UN sanctions a bar to its jurisdiction or to the admissibility of the claims. The execution of awards may also not proceed smoothly due to sanctions. In addition, there is considerable uncertainty as to whether economic sanctions violate substantive standards of investment protection and treatment, and whether host states can invoke the national security exception in BITs or rely on force majeure, necessity or countermeasures of customary international law to defend against them. In terms of the conflicting values and hierarchy of validity between investment protection and economic sanctions, UN sanction is a matter of international public policy and is more valid than investment treaty obligations, whereas unilateral sanction is not. The accumulation of Investor-State Arbitration cases involving economic sanctions will help clarify the fuzzy relationship between the international investment law system and the economic sanction system. In the absence of international legislation, Investor-State Arbitration can be one of the effective weapons to restrain or counterbalance economic sanctions.