Survival Clause under the International Investment Treaty Reform: Challenge and Response

The survival clause plays a key role in the reform of international investment treaties because it concerns the transition between old and new treaties. The legislative purpose of the survival clause is to provide investors with survival protection and prevent investors’ interests from being affected by sudden changes in policy and investment environment, so as to ensure the stability of investment protection and legal certainty. Over the past decade, many investment treaties have faced termination or been effectively terminated. However, the current rules and practices of survival clauses lack the certainty and consistency, which has caused certain obstacles to the reform of international investment law. Therefore, to study and improve the text of the survival clause will help China to make favorable policy choices on the issue of survival clauses and contribute to the reform of China’s investment treaties.