Research On RCEP Dispute Settlement Mechanis

On January 1,2022,the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement(RCEP)came into force after 10 countries having approved,which means that the free trade area with the largest population,the largest economic and trade scale and the most development potential in the world has officially come into force,and that the RCEP dispute settlement mechanism will be formally applied to the 10 member countries.RCEP is committed to establishing a comprehensive,modern,high-quality and mutually beneficial free trade agreement.As the "self-healing" mechanism of RCEP,the RCEP dispute settlement mechanism plays an important role in the RCEP and serves as an important institutional guarantee for the implementation of the provisions of the agreement.The RCEP dispute settlement mechanism is established on the basis of learning from WTO and integrating the existing dispute settlement mechanism of ASEAN(Association of Southeast Asian Nations),and taking into account the realities of the member countries in the region,aiming at providing efficient and transparent rules and procedures for disputes.There is no doubt that the RCEP dispute settlement mechanism has made various innovations in response to the existing problems of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism,which will provide reference for the reform of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism.Moreover,as RCEP member countries are also important partners of China in promoting the Belt and Road Initiative,the RCEP dispute settlement mechanism will also provide institutional guarantee for deepening and stabilizing economic and trade cooperation among countries along the Belt and Road,and provide a sample for building a dispute settlement mechanism under the Belt and Road Initiative in the future.Therefore,it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive and further study of the RCEP dispute settlement mechanism.In addition to the introduction and conclusion,this paper is divided into four chapters.The first chapter introduces the background of the RCEP and its dispute settlement mechanism.Based on the analysis of the contents of the RCEP dispute settlement mechanism,this paper summarizes the characteristics of the RCEP dispute settlement mechanism,including adopting mixed dispute settlement mode,emphasizing the autonomy of member countries,reflecting high efficiency,and combining inheritance and innovation.The second chapter is about the comparative analysis of the RCEP dispute settlement mechanism.By comparing the RCEP dispute settlement mechanism with WTO and Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement(CPTPP)dispute settlement mechanism,it can be seen that the RCEP dispute settlement mechanism has some positive aspects,such as being without the appellate body,shorter time limitation of dispute settlement,being more inclusive,etc.However,there are still some problems to be improved,such as the lack of Investor-State Dispute Settlement(ISDS),the selection system of panel members is not detailed enough,and the implementation of relief measures is conservative.The third chapter is based on the above analysis and comparison,and puts forward specific suggestions for the improvement of the RCEP dispute settlement mechanism.For example,we can learn from the ISDS mechanism in the China-Japan-Korea Investment Agreement to establish the ISDS mechanism in the RCEP dispute settlement mechanism as soon as possible;Set up a roster of panel members,and accelerate the establishment process of the panel;Introducing monetary compensation and fund system as the remedy for execution,etc.The fourth chapter,from the prospect of China,discusses the impacts of the RCEP dispute settlement mechanism on China,and puts forward suggestions for China to effectively use the RCEP dispute settlement mechanism to protect its own interests.