一带一路争端解决机制

　　《“一带一路”争端解决机制（英文版）》：　　The implementation of the Belt and Road （B&R） Initiative involves trade，investment，intellectual property，sanitary and phytosanitary standards，product safety standards，tax laws，competition laws，etc.It requires the cooperation of governments and the participation of enterprises and individuals along the B&R.The cooperation，on the one hand，needs the relevant countries' coordination at political，legal and administrative levels and，on the other hand，needs to regulate the activities of enterprises and individuals.In such an enormous economic cooperation process of the Belt and Road Initiative，disputes are inevitable.Consequently，how to settle the disputes is in fact an issue that the Belt and Road Initiative must face.　　Broadly speaking，disputes related to the Belt and Road Initiative may be divided into those between governments，between enterprises，and between a government and an enterprise.If it is classified by the nature of the underlying transaction，such disputes may be subdivided into commercial disputes，international trade disputes and investment disputes.Traditionally，disputes arising from transactions between enterprises （including those between an enterprise and an individual）are treated as commercial disputes，and those arising from intergovernmental cooperation as disputes between contracting states.Another kind of disputes is called investor-state disputes that are disputes between a foreign investor and its host government.This kind of disputes is more complicated as an enterprise may have a dispute with the host state regarding tax issues，an administrative action or omission or a judicial decision of the latter.Unless a relevant dispute involves obligations under a treaty，such a dispute can only be settled by the local court in the country where the enterprise is located or in a manner permitted by local laws.　　However，where an enterprise-government dispute involves an obligation under the World Trade Organization （WTO） agreements or a free trade agreement and where the enterprise believes that a local government's action or omission violates such an obligation，the dispute may either be of a trade nature，or belong to the category of investment disputes.In the case of the former，the enterprise may only seek to have the dispute resolved via the government of its own country，in which no compensation may be paid to the affected enterprise.　　If the dispute is of an investment nature and there exits an investment agreement or a free trade agreement between the state where the enterprise is incorporated and the state where the enterprise has the place of business，i.e.host state，the enterprise，as a foreign investor，may be entitled to the settlement of dispute through arbitration with the host state.Thus，depending on the nature of the dispute，the mechanism and applicable rules for the settlement of such disputes differ.The mechanism for settling the Belt and Road related disputes should be specifically designed according to the category of economic cooperation and transaction and the nature of the disputes therefrom.　　……