對外國直接投資國家安全審查機制之研究——兼論WTO國家安全例外規範

A Study on Foreign Direct Investment Screening Mechanism for National Security – with Reference to WTO Norm on National Security Exception

"“Salus reipublicae suprema lex?”(國家安全是最高法律嗎?)
隨著經濟全球化趨勢發展，外國直接投資與國際貿易已成為全球經貿發展之兩大驅動力，亦為多國籍企業擴展海外市場之重要經營策略，外國直接投資與國際貿易之關係亦由傳統之替代關係轉化為緊密鏈結關係。近年來，因部分外國併購投資涉及對地主國關鍵性產業或技術，以及敏感性產業之投資，引發各國對該等投資可能帶來國家安全之疑慮，「國家安全」遂成為國際投資法重要議題，許多國家亦紛紛建置外國直接投資國家安全審查機制，以作為各國捍衛對外國投資監理主權的安全閥。
「國家安全」乃屬不確定法律概念，各國之國家安全審查，無論於定義範圍或審查標準均無一致性原則，此亦引發外國投資人對於地主國國家安全審查機制欠缺透明度及可預測性之疑慮；對於被否決案件，外國投資人是否具適當救濟管道，亦為外國投資人於赴他國投資時關切之重點。
對於國際投資爭端，投資人可透過與地主國政府友好協商解決、於地主國國內尋求行政或司法救濟、或尋求國際投資爭端解決。投資人除可採前述投資人與國家爭端解決模式外，亦可採國與國爭端解決模式處理。惟對於國家安全審查結果引發之爭端，除訴諸投資人與地主國爭端解決外，是否可訴諸WTO 爭端解決，是為本論文擬探討之主要議題。
基此，外國直接投資國家安全審查機制雖屬各國內國法性質，本論文將從國際法角度探討外國直接投資國家安全審查機制於國際投資法之運用情形，將就「國家安全」概念之演進及國家安全例外規範與外國投資國安全審查之關係進行探討，並對美國、歐盟、德國及我國之外國直接投資國家安全審查機制及其運作情形進行分析。此外，本論文也就目前國際間普遍運用之投資人與地主國爭端解決機制及援引國家安全例外條款之投資爭端解決個案分析。最後，將就WTO爭端解決機制及援引國家安全例外條款之爭端解決案例分析，以探討外國直接投資國家安全審查引發之爭端，適用WTO 爭端解決機制之可行性。

With the development of economic globalization, foreign direct investment and international trade have become the two major driving forces for global economic and trade development as well as important business strategies for multinational corporations to expand overseas markets. The relationship between foreign direct investment and international trade has also transformed from a traditional substitution relationship into a close interlinkage relationship.
As some foreign M&A investment activities engage in critical industries or acquiring technologies of the host country, they have aroused concerns among countries that such cross-border M&A investments will bring national security threats to the host country. Therefore, many countries start to implement a foreign direct investment screening mechanism for national security to protect their rights to regulate foreign direct investments.
As "National security" is still an undefined legal concept, so far there is no worldwide consistent principle for foreign direct investment screening mechanism for national security. Foreign investors often criticize that the national security screening mechanism of the host country is not transparent and lacks predictability. Doubts on whether foreign investors could seek appropriate recourse against national security review decisions is also the main concern of foreign investors in considering whether to invest in other countries.
Regarding international investment disputes settlement, investors can settle disputes through pursuing local administrative and judicial remedies in the host country, or seek international dispute settlement. However, for the disputes arising from the decision of the national security review, apart from resorting to Investor-State Dispute Settlement between investors and the host state, whether the disputes can be resolved through WTO dispute settlement mechanism is the main topic to be discussed in this thesis.
This thesis aims to discuss the application of the foreign investment screening mechanism for national security from the perspective of international law. It will discuss the evolution of the concept of "national security" and analyze the relationship between international investment treaty and WTO norms on national security exception and foreign investment screening mechanism for national security. In addition, the thesis will study on the foreign direct investment screening mechanism for national security in the United States, the European Union, Germany, and Taiwan. Moreover, the thesis will discuss international investment dispute settlement mechanism followed by a case study on an investment dispute for national security exception issue. Finally, the feasibility of applying the WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism to investment disputes arising from the decision of national security review will be explored through a case study on a WTO dispute case invoking GATT national security exception clause.