On March 13, 2014, the first International Law Salon of the Institute of International Law of Wuhan University was held in Room 323 of the School of Law. Professor Qi Tong of the Department of International Economic Law made the opening report based on 2013 Ministry of Education Humanities and Social Sciences Key Research Base whose major project is “Transformation of International Investment Law and China Practice under the Perspective of Multiple Balances”
Professor Qi Tong's report is based on six aspects: the meaning of the topic, the research status at home and abroad, the research structure, research priorities and difficulties, major innovations and research progress.
In terms of the meaning of the topic, Professor Qi Tong pointed out that the international investment law is currently in the period of deep transformation and adjustment. The traditional theoretical framework is facing a multi-faceted breakthrough, guided by the "multiple balance" thought proposed by the report at 18th Party Congress with the research object of he transformation of the investment law, which is in line with the major changes in the current international situation, and is in line with the needs of the era of improving China's open economy system. And it has a high research value.
In terms of research status at home and abroad, Professor Qi Tong said that since the 1990s, the overall performance of international investment law has been active, causing a worldwide research boom and the research results are increasingly rich. However, there are still some shortcomings in the systematic research on the development and transformation of international investment law frequently with the traditional imprint of over-emphasizing investment protection or focusing on host country control. Domestic research also has drawbacks such as serious differences in opinions and difficulty in unifying positions.
In the overall framework and structure of the research, Professor Qi Tong briefly introduced ten aspects which are the internal and external background of the transformation of contemporary international investment, the diversification of international investment law sources, the diversification of the value orientation of international investment treaties, the investment arbitration practice of non-investment international obligations, investment protection and the balance of international obligations of non-investment.
In terms of research priorities, Professor Qi Tong pointed out that “the relationship between the protection of investment obligations and non-investment international obligations”, “China’s 'identity confusion' and realistic choices” and “fragmented development of international investment law” are key points and difficulties that need to be overcome in this research.
In terms of research and innovation, Professor Qi Tong proposed that the research of this subject will mainly try to innovate from four aspects: perspective, content, method and viewpoint. For example, although case studies and empirical analysis are more common in the study of basic subjects of law, in the past, due to the lack of investment arbitration cases, traditional international investment law research mainly focused on theoretical derivation. But the recent investment arbitration cases greatly create conditions for the analytical method applied to the field of international investment law.
After Professor Qi Tong introduced the research progress and the staged results, the teachers and students present at the scene made suggestions and heated discussions on the opening report. For example, Teacher Zhang Qinglin pointed out that based on diversity of international investment law sources, when the environment and human rights are drawing more and more attention, the relevant treaties and soft laws will have an impact on the practice of international investment arbitration. Xiao Jun pointed out that the framework of the project can consolidate some of the content.
The academic salon was hosted by Professor Nie Jianqiang, Deputy Director of the Institute of International Law at Wuhan University. The teachers of the Institute of International Law, some doctoral and master students participated in the salon. (Contributor: Yu Xi, graduate student of Wuhan University Institute of International Law )
