ABSTRACT

This chapter aims to describe a jurisprudential review of the cases and to see if ad hoc arbitral tribunals are consistent in adjudicating jurisdictional issues based on China-related bilateral investment treaties (BIT) in these cases and discusses these issues in the context of China-related BIT cases. The issue of jurisdiction in the case was not only limited to interpreting the scope and application of the China-Laos BIT but also involved a fundamental question of whether the China-Laos BIT extended to the territory in question. The Tribunal interpreted the intention of the BIT in a strict manner as protecting all kinds of investments through an ample formulation. The Court held that the arbitration clause in the China-Mongolia BIT was to give tribunal’s jurisdiction to determine, inter alia, whether an expropriation has occurred and whether the expropriation was effected legally. Singapore courts have consistently ruled in favour of the broad, effective interpretation of arbitration clauses.