The Boundaries of Most Favored Nation Treatment Clause (Especially on Dispute Settlement Agreement)
En Çok Gözetilen Ulus Kaydının Sınırlandırılması (Özellikle Uyuşmazlığın Çözümüne Yönelik Hüküm Açısından)
Övünç AYDIN
The aim of this paper is to examine Most Favored Nation Clause (MFN) existing in the Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) to which Turkey is a signatory, from a historical and conceptual perspective; to determine the general boundaries of the application of this clause according the jurisprudence of the international arbitration organs and lastly to point out the important awards that affects its applicability to Dispute Settlement Agreement in Bilateral Investment Agreements. With the aim of preventing discrimination against the nationals of different countries and ascertain equality of treatment regardless of nationality, today, MFN Clauses exist in different types of Model BITs as in the example of German, UK, US, Netherlands, Canadian Model. The restriction of MFN clause which is not directly related with dispute settlement bases on two principals called “temporality” and “erusdem generis” which are stated in Rights of Nationals by the United States of America in Morocco and The Ambatielos Case respectively. Maffezini Case and Siemens vs Argentina Case are in favor of the applicability of The MFN Clause to dispute settlement. However Salini Case and Plama Case have the principal to find the real intention of the parties for the application of the Clause.
Most Favoured Nation Clause, Dispute Settlement, Bilateral Investment Treaties, Arbitration.
Bu kısa çalışmanın amacı, Türkiye’nin de taraf olduğu İkili Yatırım Anlaşmalarında bulunan En Çok Gözetilen Ulus Kaydının (MFN Clause) kavramsal ve tarihsel açıdan incelenmesi; uluslararası tahkim organlarının uygulaması uyarınca En Çok Gözetilen Ulus Kaydının genel sınırlarının belirlenmesi; ve son olarak bu Kaydın, İkili Yatırım Anlaşmalarındaki uyuşmazlığın çözümüne yönelik hükümlere uygulanabilirliğine etki eden önemli kararları ortaya koymaktır. Yabancı ülkelerin yatırımcıları arasında ayrımcılık yapılmasını ve milliyete bakılmaksızın eşit muamele sağlamayı amaçlayan MFN Clause; Kanada Hollanda, İngiliz, Alman, Amerikan modeli diyebileceğimiz modeller içerisinde yer almaktadır. Rights of Nationals by the United States of America in Morocco davası ve The Ambatielos davasında usuli sınırlamalar dışında olmak üzere zamansal ve ‘ejusdem generis’ prensiplerine dayanan sınırlamalar getirilmiştir. Maffezini ve Siemens davasında en çok gözetilen ulus kaydının uyuşmazlık çözüm hükmüne uygulanacağına yönelik karar verilmiş; buna rağmen Salini ve Plama kararlarında ise tarafların bu konudaki gerçek iradelerinin araştırılmasına yönelik prensip öngörülmüştür.
En Çok Gözetilen Ulus Kaydı, Uyuşmazlık Çözümü, İkili Yatırım Anlaşmaları, Tahkim.
1) WHAT ARE MOST FAVORED NATION CLAUSE (MFN) AND ITS ORIGIN?
According to United Nations1, the MFN Treatment is defined as “... treatment accorded by the granting State to the beneficiary State, or to persons or things in a determined relationship with that State, not less favorable that treatment extended by the granting State to a third State or to persons or things in the same relationship with that third State.”. Also a MFN Clause is “a treaty provision whereby a State undertakes an obligation towards another State to accord most-favored treatment in an agreed sphere of relations”.
This clause is one of the main elements of the modern Bilateral Investment Treaties2 and has the aim of ‘preventing discrimination against the nationals of different countries and ascertain equality of treatment regardless of nationality. In the context of international investment, MFN clauses thus contribute to the harmonization of the level of protection accorded to foreign investors and their investments’3.
Historically, from the 1800s and 1900s, The MFN Clause is included in different types of friendship, commerce and navigation treaties4 and from the Second World War, as the global business grows; it has become an element of security for the states which prefers to sign BITs in order to ensure protection for their citizens investing abroad5.
