Research On The Balance Between The Interests Of Agricultural Investors And The Food Security Of The Host Country Under International Investment Law

In recent years,transnational agricultural investment has developed rapidly,driven by factors such as ensuring the food security of the investor’s home country,promoting the economic development of the host country,and producing biofuels.Transnational agricultural investment may adversely affect the right to food of host country residents by infringing upon the land rights of residents in the host country,export-oriented food production,the use of agricultural land by investors for large-scale cultivation of raw crops for biofuels,impact on genetic resources and biodiversity,etc..The issue of food security protection in the host country in transnational agricultural investment is worth studying.At present,almost no domestic scholars have conducted specific research on the protection of food security and public interests in the host country in agricultural investment,while foreign scholars’ research on this issue mostly focuses on one specific aspect,and has not made an overall analysis from the perspective of international investment law,and foreign scholars tend to calling agricultural investment "land grabbing"has obvious political overtones,so it is necessary to study this issue from China’s standpoint.At the same time,in the context of the reform of the international investment dispute settlement mechanism to protect the public interests of the host country,the interests of agricultural investors may be infringed by the abuse of regulatory power by the host country.The protection of the interests of agricultural investors also deserves attention.By studying the balance between the interests of agricultural investors and the public interests of the host country’s food security under the international investment law,Chinese enterprises can be guided to invest in overseas agriculture more responsibly,establish a good image of China as a responsible major country,achieve the sustainable development of China’s overseas agricultural investment,and enhance China’s voice in the protection of human rights in the field of transnational agricultural investment.At the same time,it can put forward suggestions on how to promote the high-quality development of my country’s agriculture through the introduction of foreign investment in the agricultural field on the premise of ensuring its own food security.This article consists of six parts:the introduction includes the background and research significance of the selected topic,summary of research status,and research methods.Chapter 2 focuses on food security and the path to its realization;the background of transnational agricultural investment and its impact on food security in host countries;the protection of food security under current international law;and the significance of balancing the protection of the interests of agricultural investors and the food security of host countries under international investment law.Chapter 3 mainly analyzes the dilemma of food security protection of the host country and the protection of the interests of agricultural investors under transnational agricultural investment in the case of transnational agricultural investment.Chapter 4 analyzes the reasons for the imbalance between the interests of agricultural investors and the food security of the host country under the international investment law based on the chapter 3.The first section analyzes the reasons that are not conducive to the food security protection of the host country,including:(ⅰ)the terms of international investment agreements are imperfect:lack of specific provisions on food security public interest exception,a large number of prohibitions against performance requirements,the lack of provisions on the obligations of the host country government and investors,and the lack of space to apply international human rights law,etc.;(ⅱ)there are shortcomings in the international investment arbitration system,such as the inability or unwillingness of arbitrators to deal with human rights issues such as the right to food involved in investment disputes and the inadequacy of the "amicus curiae";(ⅲ)the international law protecting the food security of the host country is mostly soft law;(ⅳ)agricultural investment contracts terms are not perfect.The second section analyzes the reasons that are not conducive to protecting the interests of agricultural investors,mainly because the host country abuses the broad public interest exception clause and the agricultural investment contracts lacks the necessary stability clause.Based on the chapter 4,the chapter 5 puts forward some suggestions to promote the balance between the interests of agricultural investors and the food security interests of the host country under the international investment Law.Mainly includes:(ⅰ)improving international investment agreements provisions:clearly provides exception clauses for the protection of the public interest in food security;improve the substantive and procedural rules for food security exception clauses;provides exception clauses that prohibit the performance of requirements;provides the obligation of host countries and investors to respect or protect the host country food security;investment disputes related to food security protection shall be applicable to international human rights law.(ⅱ)host countries incorporate international standards into their legal frameworks;(ⅲ)reform the international investment arbitration system,including improving "amicus curiae" to enhance transparency in international investment arbitration and establishing a roster of arbitrators with an educational background in human rights law;(ⅳ)improve agricultural investment contracts,including stipulating obligations for investors to respect host countries’ food security and stipulating necessary stable provisions to protect investors’ interests;(ⅴ)Investors take social responsibility on their own initiative.Chapter 6 puts forward some suggestions on promoting the sustainable development of China’s overseas agricultural investment and guiding China’s agriculture to make better use of foreign investment.