国际投资中数据的性质判断及保护

Judgment of the Nature and Protection of Data in International Investment

数字企业已成为对外投资的重要主体,如何充分保护数字企业海外投资利益成为国际法和国内法共同探索的议题,“Einarsson诉加拿大案”更是将数据是否为投资的疑问提交至国际投资仲裁庭。依据《华盛顿公约》及国际投资协定的现有规定,数据作为一种“投资”在立法上存在模糊性,但结合“Salini标准”和投资应当具有财产属性的要求,以及知识产权作为投资的特征考察,可以推演出数据作为投资有其理论可行性。未来,各国在改革国际投资协定时可通过一般意义的财产权路径和/或知识产权路径强化对数据的保护。在数字投资规则萌芽之际,我国宜把握规则制定先机,在夯实知识产权路径的基础上探索一般意义的财产权路径,同时在国内法中完善数据财产权构建,为加快推动我国数字经济对外投资合作提供法治保障。

Digital enterprises are important subjects of foreign investment.In view of the insufficiencies indomestic data property legislation,how to fully protect the interests of digital enterprises in foreign investment has become an issue for both international law and domestic law.The Einarsson v.Canada case has brought the issue of whether data is investment to an international investment arbitration.According the ICSID Convention and international investment agreements(IIAs),it is ambiguous whether data is investment in legislation.But it is theoretically viable that data is investment by combinations of“the Salini test”,the“asset-based”nature of investment,and the characteristics of intellectual property as investment.In the future,states can take the general data property approach and/or theintellectual property approach in IIA reforms to strengthen the protection of data.At the time when the digital investment rules are in the bud,China is advised to seize the opportunities to lead the rule-making.To be more specifically,China is advised to explore the general data property approaches after improve the intellectual property approaches in its IIAs,and construct data property rights in domestic legislation,in order to provide legal guarantees to accelerate the promotion of foreign investment and cooperation in the digital economy.