Abstract
Dispute settlement is essential not only in China and South Africa but also along the global Belt and Road Initiative project of China. It is important to protect the interest of Chinese investors. Two main legal points are discussed: the umbrella clause and the fork-in-the-road provision. The wish to have more transparency is clearly mentioned. However, it is too early for China to accept a high level of transparency as in other bilateral investment treaties (BITs). Besides arbitration, the author also suggests other flexible ways, such as consultation and negotiation between government and private parties to resolve investment disputes in Africa. Few African countries prefer to resolve investment disputes with Chinese investors by means of arbitration or litigation.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aconquija, and Vivendi 2002: Compañiá de Aguas del Aconquija S.A. and Vivendi Universal S.A. v. Argentine Republic, ICSID Case No. ARB/97/3, Decision on Annulment of July 3, 2002, 41ILM 1135. https://www.italaw.com/cases/309.
Allen, and Overy. 2009. “Fork-in-the-Road” Provision. Accessed December 4, 2018. http://www.allenovery.com/publications/en-gb/Pages/Fork-in-the-road-provisions-in-investment-treaties.aspx.
ASEAN Chapter 11 ASEAN–Australia–New Zealand Free Trade Area. Accessed June 1, 2016. http://www.asean.fta.govt.nz/assets/-Agreement-Establishing-the-ASEAN-Australia-New-Zealand-Free-Trade-Area.pdf.
ASEAN-China. 2009. ASEAN-China Investment Agreement 2009. Accessed January 12, 2017. http://fta.miti.gov.my.
Bearak, Barry. 2011. Zambia Drops Case of Shooting by Chinese Mine Bosses, April 4, 2011: The New York Times. Accessed June 12, 2016. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/05/world/a-frica/05zambia.html?_r=0.
BIT: Bilateral Investment Treaty China-Ghana (BIT 1989); China-South Africa BIT 1997: International Investment Agreements Mapping of IIA content; China-Gabon BIT 1997. Art. 9.3 of the China-South Africa BIT.
BIVAC v. Paraguay, the Tribunal Held that an Exclusive Forum Selection Clause Rendered the Umbrella Clause Claim Inadmissible. See Bureau Veritas, Inspection, Valuation, Assessment and Control, BIVAC B.V. v. The Republic of Paraguay, ICSID Case No. ARB/07/9, 290.
Böckstiegel, Karl-Heinz. 2012. Commercial and Investment Arbitration: How Different Are They Today? The Lalive Lecture 2012. Arbitration International 28 (4): 577–590.
Bulgaria. 2005. Plama v. Bulgaria, Decision on Jurisdiction, 8 February 2005, 13 ICSID Reports 272, 224.
Canada. 2004. Model BIT. Accessed June 1, 2016. http://www.italaw.com/documents/Canadian2004-FIPA-model-en.pdf.
China-Finland BIT. 2005. Accessed November 5, 2018. https://investmentpolicyhub.unctad.org/IIA/CountryBits/71. Pdf.
China-Germany BIT. 2003. Accessed November 5, 2018. https://investmentpolicyhub.unctad.org/Download/TreatyFile/736. Pdf.
CMS Gas Transmission Co v. Argentine Republic, Award, 2005, ICSID No. ARB/01/8, p. 299.
Collins Jr. Paul M. 2004. Friends of the Court: Examining the influence of Amicus Curiae Participation in U.S. Supreme Court Litigation. Law & Society Review 38.
Colombia. 2007. Colombia 2007 Model BIT. Accessed June 1, 2016. http://www.italaw.com/documents/inv_model_bit_colombia.pdf.
CSID No. ARB/3/15, 71. Sempra Energy International v. Argentine Republic, ICSID Case No. ARB/02/16. Decision on Objections to Jurisdiction, 310.
Dolzer, Rudolf, and Christoph Schreuer. 2012. Principles of International Investment Law. Oxford: University.
EDF International S.A., SAUR International S.A. and León Participaciones Argentinas S.A. v. Argentine Republic, ICSID Case No. ARB/03/23.
Egypt. 2015. H&H Enterprises Investments, Inc. v. Arab Republic of Egypt, ICSID Case No. ARB 09/15.
Energy. 2006, 2016: El Paso Energy International Company v. Argentine Republic, Decision on Jurisdiction, 2006.
France. 2006. Model BIT. Accessed June 1, 2016. http://www.italaw.com/documents/ModelTreatyFrance2006.pdf.
ICSID. 1992 and 2006. ICSID Convention, Regulations and Rules. International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes. Accessed November 8, 2018. https://icsid.worldbank.org/en/documents/icsiddocs/icsidpercent20conventionpercent20english.pdf.
India. 2015. Model Text for the Indian Bilateral Investment Treaty (2015). Accessed June 1, 2016. https://mygov.in/sites/default/files/.
Jenkins, Jane, and Simon Stebbings. 2006. International Construction Arbitration Law, 144. New York: Kluwer Law International.
Joy Mining. 2004. Joy Mining Mach. Ltd. v. Egypt, Award on Jurisdiction. 2004. ICSID No. ARB/03/11, 81. Accessed December 4, 2018. https://www.italaw.com/documents/JoyMining_Egypt.pdf.
Kochevar, Steven. 2013. Amici Curiae in Civil Law Jurisdictions, 122 the Yale Law Journal, 1653.
Kulick, Andreas. 2012. Global Public Interest in International Investment Law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Mohan, Giles. 2013. Beyond the Enclave: Towards a Critical Political Economy of China and Africa. Accessed December 10, 2018. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/dech.12061. Pdf.
Muchlinski, P., F. Ortino, and C. Schreuer, eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of International Investment Law. Oxford University Press.
NAFTA. Accessed December 5, 2018. https://www.thebalance.com/history-of-nafta-3306272.
Nakagawa, Junji, ed. 2013. Transparency in International Trade and Investment Dispute Settlement. London: Routledge.
National Security: See Art. 9: Law of the People’s Republic of China on Guarding State Secrets. Accessed January 12, 2017. http://www.gov.cn/flfg/2010-04/30/content_1596420.htm.
New Zealand-China. 2008. New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Accessed June 4, 2016. https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/trade/free-trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements-in-force/china-fta/text-of-the-new-zealand-china-fta-agreement/.
OECD. 2006. OECD, International Investment Perspectives 2006, 187. Paris: OECD Publishing.
OECD. 2013. What Makes Civil Justice Effective? OECD Economics Department Policy Notes 11.
PAJA. 2000. Section 6(1), the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act 3 of 2000 (PAJA). Accessed January 12, 2017. www.justice.gov.za.
Pautasso, Diego. 2016. The Role of Africa in the New Maritime Silk Road. Brazilian Journal of African Studies 1: 127.
Peterson, Luke. 2015. Seven Years Later, Norway Takes a Second Stab at a Model Investment Treaty; but Two Dramatic Proposals Are Now Off Table. Investment Arbitration Reporter, 18 May 2015. Accessed June 1, 2016. http://www.iareporter.com.
Pinset Masons. 2011. Institutional vs. ‘ad hoc’ Arbitration. Accessed December 7, 2018. https://www.out-law.com/en/topics/projects%2D%2Dconstruction/international-arbitration/institutional-vs-ad-hoc-arbitration/.
Rubino-Sammartano, Mauro. 2014. International Arbitration Law and Practice. 3rd ed. New York: Juris Net.
SADC. 2012. SADC Model Bilateral Investment Treaty Template with Commentary. Accessed June 14, 2016. http://www.iisd.org/itn/wpcontent/uploads/2012/10/sadc-model-bit-template-final.pdf.
Schreuer, Christoph. 2004. Travelling the BIT Route: of Waiting Periods, Umbrella Clauses and Forks in the Road. The Journal of World Investment & Trade 5: 231–239.
———. 2010a. International of International Tribunals and Domestic Courts in Investment Law. In Contemporary Issues in International Arbitration and Mediation: The Fordham Papers, 2010, ed. Arthur W. Rovine, 74. New York: Brill/Nijhoff Publishing. [The Fordham Papers 2010].
———. 2010b. International of International Tribunals and Domestic Courts in Investment Law, in The Fordham Papers, 2010, op.cit. 78.
SGS: SGS Société Générale de Surveillance S.A. v. the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (ICSID Case No. ARB/01/13).
SGS Société Générale de Surveillance S.A. v. the Republic of Paraguay, ICSID Case No. ARB/07/29.
SGS Société Générale de Surveillance S.A. v. the Republic of the Philippines, ICSID Case No. ARB/02/6.
Shahrad, Nasrolahi Fard. 2018. Reciprocity in International Law: its Impact and Function. New York: Routledge. Chinese Courts Deal also with the Principle of Reciprocity: Judicial Interpretation [2013] No. 11, Issued by the Supreme People’s Court of China.
Sharma, Ruchir. 2017 rep. The Rise and Fall of Nations: Ten Rules of Change in the Post-Crisis World. UK: Penguin Books, xii+464, pp. 402–403: Map of Global Shipping Routes as of 2015. Source Nicolas Rapp, Hofstra University, Global Studies and Geography.
Snider, Thomas R. 2014. Chad and China’s CNPC Reach Settlement on Alleged Environmental Damages, November 14, 2014: martindale.com. Accessed June 12, 2016. http://www.martindale.com/alternative-dispute-resolution-law/article_Greenberg-Traurig-LLP_2185172.htm.
Snider and South Africa. 2015. Art. 13(4) of the Protection of Investment Act No. 22 of 2015.
Suez. 2005: Suez and others v Argentina, ICSID Case No. ARB/03/19, Order in Response to a Petition for Transparency and Participation as Amicus Curiae, 19 May 2005.
Tao Jingzhou. 2008. Arbitration Law and Practice in China, 161. New York: Wolters Kluwer.
TPPA. 2016. Article 9.21, Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. Accessed January 12, 2017. https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements/trans-pacificpartnership/tpp-full-text.
UNCITRAL 2014. Rules on Transparency in Treaty-Based Investor-State Arbitration. UN Transparency: United Nations Convention on Transparency. Accessed February 12, 2017. http://www.uncitral.org/uncitral/en/uncitral_texts/arbitration/2014Transparency.html.
UNCTAD. 2007. Bilateral Investment Treaties 1995–2006: Trends in Rule making. New York and Geneva: United Nations.
UNCTAD. 2010. Economic Development in Africa UNCTAD/ALDC/AFRICA/2010. Accessed June 12, 2016. http://unctad.org/en/Docs/tdb57d2_en.pdf.
US Model BIT. 2012. U.S. Model Bilateral Investment Treaty. Accessed December 8, 2018. https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/188371.pdf. Pdf.
Van der Merwe, C.G., and J.E. Du Plessis, eds. 2004. Introduction to the Law of South Africa, 433. The Hague: Kluwer Law International.
Wang, Guiguo. 2011. Chinese Mechanisms for Resolving Investor-State Disputes. Journal of International Affairs 2: 205.
de Wet, Erika, Holger Hestermeyer, and Rüdiger Wolfrum. 2015. International Law in Germany and South Africa, 24–32. Pretoria: Pretoria University Law Press.
Wilkie, Deborah. 2013. UNCITRAL Unveils New Transparency Rules – Blazing a Trail Towards Transparency in Investor-State Arbitration? Accessed December 7, 2018. http://arbitrationblog.kluwerarbitration.com/2013/07/25/uncitral-unveils-new-transparency-rules-blazing-a-trail-towards-transparency-in-investor-state-arbitration/.
Yu, Jingsong. 2011. Research on Balancing the Rights and Interest Between Investors and Host Sate in Investment Treaty Arbitration. China Legal Science: 2011–2012.
Zhu, Weidong. 2012. The Civil and Commercial Disputes Arising the China-African Business Relations and Their Settlements. West Asian and African Studies 3: 85.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ke, L. (2020). A Chinese-African Cross Cultural Perspective on Dispute Settlement and the Belt and Road Initiative: Challenges and Risks Facing Chinese Investors. In: Berlie, J. (eds) China’s Globalization and the Belt and Road Initiative. Politics and Development of Contemporary China. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22289-5_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22289-5_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-22288-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-22289-5
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)