中国投资协议实体保护标准的自由化和多边化演进

与双边投资协议在全球范围内的爆炸式增长形成鲜明对比,国际投资保护领域的多边协定相对而言谈判进展缓慢并且较少受到关注.亚洲地区最近的多边投资协定,当属《东盟—中国投资协议》及《中日韩三方协定》.本文以中国签订的双边和多边投资协议为研究对象,考察国民待遇、最惠国待遇、公平和公正待遇、全面保护与安全、征收以及资本转移等主要实体保护标准的演进.《东盟—中国投资协议》与《中日韩三方协定》为外国投资者提供的实体保护标准,越发显示出更为自由的保护投资者的立场,这将有利于促进投资、改善投资相关规章制度的透明度、加强投资领域的多边合作,最终推动整个亚太地区的区域投资协定的签署以及投资法律体系的自由化和多边化发展.     

德国国际私法渊源的新发展

在传统上,德国国际私法的渊源包括制定法、德国缔结或者参加的各种国际私法条约、习惯法和判例法,但是随着欧盟国际私法统一化的深入发展,尤其是欧洲共同体在公司法、合同法、物权法、知识产权法、破产法和国际民事诉讼程序法等领域的立法不断加强,欧盟法中的国际私法规范逐渐渗入德国国际私法,从而使德国国际私法的渊源突破了传统的范围,越来越多地打上了欧盟法的烙印,呈现出“欧盟化”倾向。     

清代民族边防变化及划界签约

有清一代,传统边防的思想观念有了重大的变化。在遭受西方殖民主义者侵略的过程中,清王朝统治者认识到了国家边防防御的重要性。自康熙皇帝开始,清政府的边防观念开始转变,逐渐形成了一套边防指导思想和政策。     

Defending democracy with international law: preventing coup attempts with democracy clauses

In recent decades many regional inter-governmental organizations have adopted agreements committing all member states to maintain democratic governments, and specifying punishments to be levied against member states that revert to authoritarianism. These treaties have a surprisingly high enforcement rate – nearly all states subject to them that have experienced governmental succession by coup have been suspended by the relevant IGO(s). However, relatively little is known about whether these treaties are deterring coups. This article offers an original theory of how these international agreements could deter coups d’état, focusing on the way that a predictably adverse international reaction complicates the incentives of potential coup participants. An analysis of the likelihood of coups for the period of 1991–2008 shows that states subject to democracy were on average less likely to experience coups, but that this finding was not statistically significant in most models. However, when restricting the analysis to democracies, middle-income states with democracy clauses were significantly less likely to experience coup attempts. Moreover, the African democracy regime appears to be particularly effective, significantly reducing the likelihood of coup attempts for middle-income states regardless of regime type.     

A Commentary on the New Zealand Supreme Court Rules

This article critically assesses how some public law principles, including the doctrine of legitimate expectations, are applied in the Commonwealth Caribbean. It proceeds to discuss the impact of international law on public law and to note that, through the implementation of unincorporated treaties into domestic law, the principle of dualism is increasingly losing its significance and protective effect. The consequence of this is that Governments will continue to want more opt outs and will be more cautious about signing treaties which they are not ready to implement.     

气候变化背景下国际投资规则的发展趋势及我国对策研究

传统国际投资条约与应对气候变化存在一些矛盾和冲突,因此应实现国际投资条约与气候变化应对条约之间的衔接,兼顾投资自由化与政府管制.要实现这一目标,最佳方式是通过改变国际投资条约以顺应应对气候变化的低碳运动,改变国际投资条约将促进和保护投资作为唯一重心的现状,并采纳环境保护等其他领域的国际法规则.近年来国际投资领域呈现可持续发展的投资政策趋势.目前一些投资保护协定范本和新签订的双边和区域性投资协定已经纳入并不断完善环境保护等有关东道国管制外资内容的条款,逐步实现投资者利益与东道国利益保护的平衡.我国对现有国际投资条约进行调整、修订以及新投资条约的谈判,应考虑国际投资条约的这一发展趋势,以顺应国际投资的可持续发展政策.     

双边投资保护协定中“非排除措施”条款研究

双边投资保护协定中的"非排除措施"条款通常出现于条约正文或相关议定书之中,是平衡东道国国家利益和投资者私人利益的标尺,具有显著的风险分配功能。与"非排除措施"相关的法律问题主要包括条款解释、审查标准两个方面。条款解释的"两阶段"理论有助于减少法的不确定性,值得肯定;在审查标准中应引入善意原则,以防止国家滥用"非排除措施"。在中美双边投资保护协定的谈判中应引入"非排除措施"条款,以切实保护投资者的利益。