国际投资中一般例外条款分析——以新冠疫情防控措施为例

Analysis of General Exception Clauses in International Investment—A Case Study of COVID-19 Prevention and Control Measures

2019年新冠肺炎疫情的大流行影响了全世界人民的生命健康,同时对国际投资的发展提出了新的挑战。面对东道国所采取的强制停工停产、征收征用等疫情防控措施,越来越多的投资者可能会基于违反相关的国际投资协定义务相继提起投资仲裁,使得国家面临严重的仲裁危机。国际投资机制长久以来便维持着保护投资的趋势,使得东道国的公共健康抗辩异常难得,其中一般例外条款的设置和适用尤其重要。本文希望通过对一般例外条款的深入分析,更好应对我国目前及未来可能面临的投资仲裁请求,发挥一般例外条款在平衡投资者利益与东道国规制权之间关系的作用。

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2019 hasaffected the lives and health of people all over the world, while posing newchallenges to the development of international investment. In the face of thehost country’s epidemic prevention and control measures such as compulsorysuspension of production, expropriation and requisition, more and moreinvestors may initiate investment arbitration based on the violation of obligationsunder relevant international investment agreements, making the country face aserious arbitration crisis. The international investment mechanism has longmaintained the trend of protecting investment, which makes the host country’spublic health defense extremely rare, among which the establishment andapplication of the general exception clause is particularly important. Thispaper hopes to better deal with China’s current and future investmentarbitration claims through in-depth analysis of the general exception clause,and play the role of the general exception clause in balancing the relationshipbetween the interests of investors and the host country’s regulatory rights.