外國國家豁免法的溯及適用問題研究

Study on the Retroactive Application of the Law of Immunity of Foreign States

《中華人民共和國外國國家豁免法》的法律適用規則中未明確其溯及適用問題。在理論上，外國國家豁免法應堅持法不溯及既往原則。在國際立法和各國立法實踐中，《國家豁免歐洲公約》《聯合國國家及其財產管轄豁免公約》和英國、新加坡、澳大利亞等國的國家豁免法均以不同的立法體例明確了其溯及力問題，都以不溯及既往為原則。《美國外國主權豁免法》並未規定其溯及力問題，相關司法實踐呈現出由“可以溯及適用”到“不能溯及適用”再到“可以溯及適用”的發展變化，但該法的“溯及適用”正是程序法中法不溯及既往原則的體現。我國《外國國家豁免法》應當堅持法不溯及既往原則，以立法形式在法律適用條款作出相應規定，在內容上可規定“本法適用於本法生效後開始的任何訴訟”，同時對特定情形的訴訟予以排除適用；在立法體例上可以採用“肯定+否定”形式。

The legal application rules of the Foreign State Immunity Law of the People’s Republic of China do not provide for its retroactive application. In theory, foreign state immunity laws should adhere to the principle of non-retroactivity. In international legislation and legislative practice of various countries, the European Convention on State Immunity, the United Nations Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and Their Property, and the state immunity laws of countries such as the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Australia have all clarified their retroactive effect in different forms of legislation. The application of these laws follows the principle of non-retroactivity. The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of the United States does not address the issue of its retroactive effect, and judicial practice on this issue has shown a tortuous shift from“applicable retroactively”to“not applicable retroactively”and then to“applicable retroactively”. However, the“applicable retroactively”of this law is a reflection of the non-retroactivity of procedural law. The Chinese Foreign State Immunity Law should adhere to the principle of non-retroactivity of law and stipulate it in the legal application provisions in the form of legislation. In terms of content, this law applies to any litigation that begins after the law comes into effect, while excluding litigation in specific circumstances. In terms of legislative system, a“affirmation+negation”form can be adopted.