Research On The Investment Arbitration Case Between Ansung Housing And China

The case Ansung Housing Co.,Ltd.v.People's Republic of China,which the tribunal rendered its award on March 9,2017,is the second case in which the foreign investor applied for arbitration to ICSID.In this case,the arbitral tribunal dismissed the entire arbitration of the claimant Ansung Housing.In response to the request,China has won a full victory in this case.This article selects this case,in the form of case analysis,introduces the basic facts of the case,summarizes the focus of the dispute,combines the opinions of various parties,the tribunal's decision and relevant legal knowledge to study and discuss the relevant legal issues.From this experience,we can provide some inspiration for us to participate in international investment arbitration practice in the future.The first part of the article is an introduction to the basic case,including the summary of the case and the arbitral procedure.The basic facts in this article is based on the facts identified by the tribunal in the arbitral award in this case.The arbitral proceedings are written in the award and the details of the ICSID official website on the procedures of the case.The second part is the key part of this paper.It sums up the three controversial focuses of the case,namely,the judgment standard of “manifestly without legal merit”,whether or not the request for arbitration of Ansung Housing has exceeded the timelimit for arbitration,and whether the most-favored-nation treatment clause applies to arbitration and limitation of time.This article will combine the claims of both parties and the arbitral tribunal's decisions to analyze the focus of the dispute one by one,and to study the legal issues involved in the dispute,including the analysis of Article 41(5)of the ICSID Arbitration Rules,the issue of precedents in ICSID arbitration,and the application of most-favored-nation treatment clauses in ICSID arbitration.The third part is to analyze the case and try to inspire how to deal with similar disputes in the future,and discuss how China can strengthen its advantages in international investment arbitration.Firstly,we should pay attention to the study of ICSID arbitration rules and learn to use ICSID arbitration rules flexibly,especially the preliminary objection accelerated processing procedure.In our economic exchanges with different countries,we should consider whether it is necessary to introduce the expedited procedures in treaties such as investment agreements based on different interest requirements.Secondly,although the ICSID arbitration precedent system has not been established yet,cases have very important persuasive functions in practice.Therefore,we should not only pay enough attention to it,but also strengthen the study of precedents.Attention to cases not only helps to win the dispute but also to a certain helps to prevent some risk.Thirdly,the application of the MFN clause in practice has become a trend.This trend requires us to formulate a MFN clause when it enters into a treaty with other countries.Moreover,we should take some necessary measures to respond to the expansion of MFN clauses.