Study on Fair and Equitable Treatment Clauses in International Investment Agreements

As the most core and widely applicable investment protection standard in international investment agreements (IIAs), Fair and Equitable Treatment (FET) clauses have played an important role in regulating the behavior of host countries and safeguarding the legitimate foreign investors' rights and interests.Based on the development of the FET clause, this paper systematically analyzes its connotation and arbitration practice, and reveals its interpretation path in terms of legitimate expectation, non-discriminatory treatment and procedural justice through typical case analysis. The article further points out that in the application of FET clauses, it is not easy to find out the path of interpretation of FET clauses. The article further points out that the FET Clause faces the main problems of ambiguous connotation, inconsistent arbitration standards and inhibition of host country's policy space in the process of application. To overcome these issues, this article proposes that the scope of the Fair and Equitable Treatment (FET) clause's applicability be modified. through measures such as narrowing the scope of provisions, establishing mechanisms to protect regulatory authority, applying proportionality assessments, and formalizing the dispute resolution process. The goal is to achieve a balanced equilibrium between safeguarding investments and preserving national sovereignty.