On Legal Issues Of The Ansung Housing Co.,Ltd.v.People's Republic Of China Case

Since China has accession to the Washington Convention in 1992,the Chinese government and enterprises have rarely involved in ICSID arbitration cases.In only a few cases,Chinese enterprises have also filed as applicants.With the process of reform and opening up and the strategy of "going out",Chinese economy has changed from simply relying on attracting foreign investment in the early stage of reform and opening up to a two-way investment mode of attracting foreign investment and developing together with foreign investment.In this context,it can be predicted that in the future,the role of China in the field of international investment arbitration will change from the main role of the applicant to the coexistence of active prosecution as the applicant and passive response as the respondent.The case of the Ansung Housing Co.,Ltd.v.People's Republic of China which filed by the ICSID on November 4,2014 is the first international investment arbitration case about China,as the host country.This article deeply analyzes the litigation process and related theoretical issues behind this case,so as to guarantee the future participation of Chinese government and enterprises in international investment arbitration practice.Based on the above background,this article takes the case of the Ansung Housing Co.,Ltd.v.People's Republic as the research object,which is divided into four parts.The first part is the case brief and the focus of the dispute.Based on the introduction of the background of the case and the arbitration procedure to induce three focus issues.They are whether the preliminary objection procedure is applicable to the case,whether the arbitration request of Ansung exceeds the time limitation of arbitration,and whether the time limitation of arbitration is applicable to the MFN clause.The second part analyzes the preliminary objection procedure.On the basis of a brief overview of ICSID preliminary objection procedure's content,background and applicable standards,combined with the views of the arbitration tribunal and bothparties,this article makes a specific analysis on how to apply the preliminary objection procedure in this case,and based on the current reality in China,puts forward feasible suggestions for future response to relevant cases.The third part analyzes the time limitation of arbitration.This article introduces the provisions on the time limitation of arbitration in international investment arbitration,evaluates the determination of the starting and ending time of the limitation of arbitration in this case based on the views of the arbitration tribunal and both parties in this case,and considers the enlightenment on China's participation in ICSID arbitration in the future.The fourth part analyzes the MFN clause.Based on the analysis of the disputes over the scope of application of the MFN clause in ICSID,this article analyzes the reasons why the MFN clause in this case is not applicable,combining with the views of the arbitration tribunal and both parties in this case,and then puts forward countermeasures for the expansion and application of the MFN clause in ICSID about China.