A comparative analysis of the status of SOEs in Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), state immunity, and WTO anti-dumping and countervailing duties

Wang, Xi (2025) A comparative analysis of the status of SOEs in Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), state immunity, and WTO anti-dumping and countervailing duties. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This thesis discusses how the status of state-owned enterprises is identified in the fields of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), state immunity, and WTO anti-dumping and countervailing duties, and whether there is a need for a unified rule. The aim is to clarify under which circumstances state-owned enterprises in international activities may be considered to represent state proxies. Accordingly, the thesis analyses the existing rules in these three fields and discusses the question of whether the status of state-owned enterprises is determined by their structure or by their behaviour. In addressing the differences in rules across these three fields, the thesis then explores the issue of whether international law needs to apply a uniform rule in determining the status of state-owned enterprises.

This analysis goes beyond previous approaches which only examined rules within a single field, by providing a comparative discussion of rules in determining the status of an entity in international law across three different fields. The key point of the thesis is that there are both commonalities and differences in the rules governing the status of state-owned enterprises in these three fields, which arise from their distinct legislative objectives. In addition, due to the fragmentation of international law and the subjectivity of interpretation of international law, creating a uniform rule is not deemed necessary. According to the comparative study conducted across the three areas, this thesis suggests that rules from the state immunity field can be selectively applied to the other two areas. However, it is essential to consider their adaptability to the specific rules of each area.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Keywords: State-owned Enterprises (SOE), state, structure, conduct, unified rule.
• Subjects: K Law > K Law (General)
• Colleges/Schools: College of Social Sciences > School of Law
• Supervisor's Name: Rasulov, Professor Akbar, Jokubauskaite, Dr. Giedre and Marzal, Professor Antonio
• Date of Award: 2025
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2025-84935
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 26 Feb 2025 13:29
• Last Modified: 26 Feb 2025 13:34
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.84935
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/84935