Investment Arbitration between Chinese Investors and Their Host Countries in Africa:A More Transparent Future?

摘要

As one of the mainstream dispute resolutions,arbitration is broadly used in settling Investor-State disputes for its unique advantages compared with other mechanisms.In the past,investment treaty arbitration was in thrall to the confidentiality principle of commercial arbitration:neither the submission nor the award of arbitration can be disclosed to the public.This paper attempts to show how the wind blows today.Adoption of the UNCITRAL Transparency rules promotes transparency in investment treaty arbitration,and brings both opportunity and challenge to China as well.Whether China shall support transparency in investment treaty arbitration?It is not an easy question to answer given the duplex roles of China as both source and recipient of FDI today.It is more complex when disputes arise between China and its biggest partner:Africa.This paper starts by reviewing the development of commercial cooperation between China and Africa and the possible ways of settling investment disputes in the continent.It is found out that arbitration is a more appropriate mechanism for Chinese investors to resolve their investment disputes in Africa.This paper then illustrates the increasingly transparency in investment treaty arbitration and discusses how much transparency China shall accept in investment treaty arbitration and whether China shall advocate transparency of arbitration in Sino-Africa BITs.In conclusion,it is suggested that China shall take a cautious attitude towards transparency trend in investment treaty arbitration,as it is not ready for accepting a high-level transparency in investment treaty arbitration.