武装冲突中的投资保护:“战争条款”的解释与适用

The Protection of Investments in Armed Conflicts:The Interpretation and Application of "War Clauses"

投资条约中的“战争条款”发挥着在武装冲突等紧急情况下保护投资的作用。“战争条款”可分为简易型战争条款和扩充型战争条款,前者只规定了东道国的非歧视义务;后者在重申前者内容的基础上,增加了东道国赔偿或补偿投资者的义务。“战争条款”反映了国际投资法和国际人道法之间的联系,其中多个术语的解释可能需要参考或援用国际人道法规则。当然,国际人道法在这方面的作用也存在一定局限性。在举证责任方面,当前国际投资仲裁实践要求投资者承担“战争条款”的举证责任,这就简易型战争条款而言是合理的,而对于扩充型战争条款则不合理,有待进一步的改进。“战争条款”与其他涉武装冲突条款的关系也不够明确,国际投资仲裁实践未能对这一问题提供完善指引。分析表明,应当将“战争条款”作为独立的、补充性的诉因对待,与其他涉武装冲突条款的适用互不影响。

"War clauses"in investment treaties serve to protect investments in emergencies such as armed conflict."War clauses"can be divided into simple war clauses and extended war clauses.The former only stipulates the non-discrimination obligation of the host State,whereas the adds an obligation of the host State to compensate investors based on reiterating the content of the former."War Clauses"reflect the connection between international investment law and international humanitarian law,and the interpretation of its several terms may need to refer to or invoke the rules of international humanitarian law.Of course,the role of international humanitarian law in this regard also has certain limitations.In terms of the burden of proof,the current international investment arbitration practice requires investors to bear the burden of proof of"war clauses",which is reasonable as far as simple war clauses are concerned,but is unreasonable regarding expanded war clauses and needs further improvement.The relationship between"war clauses"and other clauses related to armed conflict is not clear enough,as international investment arbitration practice fails to provide adequate guidance on this issue.The analysis shows that"war clauses"should be treated as an independent and supplementary cause of action,independent of the application of other clauses related to armed conflict.