International Investment Arbitration Award Inconsistency: The Appellate Mechanism As A New Paradigm

With the increased integration of the world economy,foreign investment has gradually been playing a more and more important role in promoting international economic development and global prosperity.At the same time,the explosion of foreign investment also results in increasing investment disputes.There are many methods to resolve investment disputes between host countries and foreign investors.Among them,international investment arbitration,as a neutral method,began to development after World War II and has gradually played a more and more important role in resolving the international investment disputes.However,with the rapid development of international investment arbitration,there also come some new problems.The most severe problem is the inconsistency of arbitration awards.This thesis begins with the inconsistency problem of awards of international investment arbitration and examined why current review mechanism – including ICSID annulment and national court review are insufficient to cure this problem.Based on the problem and insufficient review mechanisms,this thesis put forward a new review method to resolve this problem – establishing an appellate mechanism.This thesis analyzes and demonstrates the legal basis in theory for the construction of an appeal mechanism for international investment arbitration.The key characteristic of international investment dispute is state-involved,therefore,suggestions for reforming international investment arbitration shall be based on this point and it's important to notice that international investment arbitration is different from international commercial arbitration in nature.This thesis also introduces and analyses the trials and practices of the international investment arbitration appeal mechanism.The early attempts of ICSID,the bilateral investment treaty model adopted by the United States,and the permanent investment court model adopted by the European Union are analyzed in detail,and the shortcomings are pointed out.Finally,this thesis puts forward the idea of establishing an international investment arbitration appeal mechanism and analyses feasible overall framework.Firstly,the opt-in method in Mauritius Convention provides an important reference for the establishment of an appeal mechanism,but its shortcomings should also be striven to avoid;Secondly,the appeal mechanism should be based on the ICSID,with convenience from the perspectives of mechanism,normative and institution;Also,the establishment of an appeal mechanism can take the form of applying Article 41 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties,and establish an appeal mechanism through the acceptance of certain specific states parties,which is currently the most feasible method to establish an appellate mechanism.