公共利益与国际投资仲裁程序性改革——以法庭之友和透明度为例

Public Interest and Procedural Reform of International Investment Arbitration

近年来,投资者与东道国间的投资仲裁案件迅猛增加。由于过于强调对投资者的保护而对公共利益缺乏关注,国际投资仲裁机制日益遭到质疑。为加强对东道国公共利益的保护,投资仲裁的改革势在必行。除了完善投资条约中的实体规范以外,程序性规范的改革也是重要的,引入法庭之友制度及增加透明度就是这种程序性改革的重要内容。在投资仲裁中引入'法庭之友'制度可以给予公共利益的维护者参与仲裁、发表意见的机会,增加投资仲裁的透明度则有助于切实维护广大公众对于仲裁案件的知情权。在两种制度的具体规范设置上,应当特别注意公共利益与私人利益、仲裁程序与可管理性之间的平衡。

In recent years,with the dramatic surge of investor-state dispute arbitration cases,investment treaty arbitration has been increasingly criticized for its strong protection of investors and disregard for public interest.It is thus imperative to reform the invest arbitration mechanism:not only substantive rules need to be redesigned,procedural rules also have to be reformed to address the public interest concerns.In the procedural context,major steps include providing opportunities for amicus curiae participation and promoting transparency in arbitral proceedings.Amicus participation could provide tribunals with specialized information that relates to public interest concerns in a dispute;and allowing greater transparency would promote the awareness of the disputes and assist individuals to realize their rights to information.With regard to the formulation of specific rules,special efforts should be made to strike a balance between public interest,investors’interest and the need to keep the efficiency and manageability of arbitral proceedings.