| In the practice of international investment arbitration,in order to protect their own interests,more and more investors apply the principle of "investor reasonable expectations" to determine that the host country violates fair and equitable treatment or constitutes indirect expropriation.The principle was developed.Although the theoretical community has questioned whether investors ’reasonable expectations should be used in international investment arbitration in such a wide range of applications,it is undoubted that the protection of investors’ reasonable expectations in practice should become a consensus of the host country.At present,in the academic and international investment arbitration practice,the research on the reasonable expectations of investors mainly focuses on fair and equitable treatment,but with the development of practice,there are more and more discussions on the reasonable expectations of investors in indirect collection casesThe origin of investors’reasonable expectations has two modes in domestic law the administrative law model of English law and the constitutional model of American law.The origin of investors’reasonable expectation in international law starts slowly in the case of international investment arbitration.With 30 years of development,investors reasonably expect to infiltrate all aspects of investment arbitration.The most important thing is to discuss in fair and equitable treatment and indirect expropriation The legal sources that investors reasonably expect are common in regional trade agreements such as NAFTA and UXMCA;bilateral trade agreements such as China-India BIT.In practice and development,due to the different sources of investors ’reasonable starting points,the explanations for investors’ reasonable expectations gradually form a broad and narrow sense.In general,the reasonable expectations of investors can be based on the special guarantees of the host country,but also on the general guarantees provided by the host country’s application of national laws,or even directly based on the stability of the host country’s legal framework;Based solely on the special guarantees that investors receive from the host country when investing,this special guarantee is the key factor that motivates them to make investment decisions.Both broad and narrow investors’reasonable expectations are faced with the interpretation of their connotation,which is particularly evident in the practice of international investment arbitration.For example,in practice,how to define the " time when investing”in the narrow investor’s reasonable expectations.Different understandingIn ICSID’s arbitration practice,there are cases where investors’ reasonable expectations are placed in fair and equitable treatment for discussion,such as Glamis v.United States,and cases where they are placed in the determination of indirect collection,such as the Metalclad case.Through these cases,the author found that in the practice of arbitration,the arbitral tribunal’s interpretation of the reasonable expectations of investors has become wider and wider,which has resulted in the disadvantage of the balance of interests tilting towards investors and damaging the supervisory power of the host country.The author believes that under the circumstances that China’s bilateral investment agreements have not clearly stipulated the reasonable expectations of investors,and China is less involved in international investment arbitration cases,it is not appropriate for academics or in the practice of international investment arbitration to treat investors’reasonable expectations as an international law principle Instead,a restrictive interpretation of investors’reasonable expectations should be taken,and a narrow sense of investors’reasonable expectations should be taken to properly safeguard the economic sovereignty of the host country.Under the current circumstances,it is of great practical significance to clarify the protection standards that investors reasonably expect in the practice of international investment arbitration,especially the protection standards in fair and equitable treatment and indirect collection.As the host country,China should improve the international investment treaties,unify the wording,clarify concepts,and create a good business environment.Investors in China should learn from the experience of international investment arbitration,strengthen the risk investigation of the host country in the early stage of investment,abide by the laws of the host country,perform social responsibilities,and be good at using the principle of reasonable expectations of investors to safeguard their economic interests. |
