Investment Promotion and Protection in the Canada-UK Trade Relationship

促进和保护投资已成为加拿大和联合王国之间未来贸易关系的一个关键部分。虽然英国脱欧为制定新的双边自由贸易协定铺平了道路，但这两个国家的外国直接投资存量的重要性——2016年加拿大对英国的直接投资为979亿加元，英国对加拿大的直接投资为418亿加元——使得双边投资监管的考虑至关重要。与此同时，加拿大和英国之间的国际投资监管的确切性质和内容仍然高度不确定。投资保护已成为不可否认的争议对象。一些利益相关者批评国际投资仲裁缺乏合法性，而大多数国际投资协议都使用国际投资仲裁来解决外国投资者与国家之间的争端。许多要求改革的呼声也表明，越来越有兴趣把投资保护同人权、环境保护、劳工权利和禁止腐败等问题联系起来。此外，自《里斯本条约》（Lisbon Treaty）将该领域的专有权赋予欧盟（eu）以来，英国一直没有对外国直接投资的控制权；目前尚不清楚英国在重新获得控制权后将制定哪些优先事项。围绕加拿大和英国之间一项国际投资协议的性质和内容的不确定性，要求我们对现有的各种可能性有更深入的了解。这一知识综合项目旨在查明和分析可以而且应该列入任何此类国际投资协定的条款。根据对国际投资协定的内容分析和国际投资法专家的建议，本项目探讨了谈判人员在解决争端、给予外国投资者的保护范围以及对这些行为者施加的义务等方面必须考虑的各种可能性。尽管对国际投资法的本质提出了许多批评，但从法律角度来看，明确处理这些问题是完全可行的。综合有关这些条款的知识将确保政策制定者以适当的工具处理这些独特的谈判，以最大限度地为两国带来利益，并为建立更合法的国际投资制度做出贡献。

The promotion and the protection of investment have emerged as a crucial part of the future trade relationship between Canada and the United Kingdom (UK). While Brexit has paved the way for the elaboration of a new bilateral free trade agreement, the significance of foreign direct investment stock in these two countries - CAN$ 97.9 billion of Canadian direct investment in the UK and CAN$ 41.8 billion of direct investment from the UK in Canada in 2016 - makes the consideration of bilateral investment regulation essential. At the same time, the exact nature and content of international investment regulation between Canada and the UK remain highly uncertain. Investment protection has become subject to undeniable controversy. Several stakeholders criticize the lack of legitimacy of international investment arbitration, used in the majority of international investment agreements to settle disputes between foreign investors and states. Numerous calls for reform also demonstrate an increased interest in linking investment protection with issues of human rights, environmental protection, labour rights and the prohibition of corruption. Moreover, the UK has not had control over foreign direct investment since the Lisbon Treaty gave exclusive competence in the area to the European Union; what priorities the UK will set once it has retaken control is unknown. The uncertainty surrounding the nature and the content of an international investment agreement between Canada and the UK requires a deeper understanding of the range of possibilities at hand. This knowledge synthesis project seeks to identify and analyze provisions that could and should be included in any such international investment agreement. Relying on a content analysis of international investment agreements and propositions from experts in international investment law, the project addresses the various possibilities that will have to be considered by negotiators with respect to dispute settlement, the breadth of protections granted to foreign investors, and obligations imposed on these actors. Despite the numerous criticisms that have been formulated against the very nature of international investment law, explicitly engaging with these concerns is entirely feasible from a legal perspective. Synthesizing knowledge regarding these provisions will ensure that policy-makers approach these unique negotiations with the appropriate tools to maximize the benefits to both countries and contribute to building a more legitimate international investment regime.