经新加坡国立大学法学院长授权,新加坡眼转载他在网上最新热文,关于新加坡装甲车的。
努力用小编的智商读了八遍后勉强觉得看懂,理解是这样的:按照国际法,中国该把装甲车还给新加坡。新加坡明白这一点,中国也知道这个法理。但是中国为啥迟迟不还车,就是法理之外的因素,即是政治考量了。
国际法是建立在各国主权平等这一观念的基础上的,而主权豁免则是此观念的必然延伸。这是因为,既然国家之间是平等的,它们在通常情况下就不会对彼此妄加评判。
据此,一国大使作为其本国的代表享有外交豁免权以使其免遭驻在国法律的管辖,而国家本身则享有针对当地法律(管辖权)的更大的保护。这种豁免权也一般性地适用于国家财产,虽然还有有两个例外:第一,国家可以放弃豁免权,第二,某些情况下,纯粹的商业事项不享有豁免。但任何上述例外都不适用于当下这个案子。在本案中,显而易见新加坡没有放弃其豁免权,而新加坡武装部队的装甲车也明确属于国家财产(同时要注意的是,香港与中国都不承认国家豁免权中的商业例外)。如(新加坡国防)部长所强调的,这个主张只是适用于本案中新加坡政府的财产。至于航运公司APL是否应受到(香港法律的)惩处,那是另外一个问题。
值得注意的是,香港的官方立场是尚未就此事形成任何结论,这就为最后达成妥协提供了一点空间。近来一些事例表明中国在过去是愿意归还他国的国家财产的(如2016年12月中国归还了美国的水下无人航行器,以及2011年4月中国最终归还了美国的EP3间谍侦察机)。
鉴于中国对主权豁免一向持有坚定的立场,且过去也多次在其他法域主张这一立场以保护其自身的权益,装甲车扣押事件如果得不到最终解决,这将会非常令人诧异。目前的种种延宕也许是出于某种政治目的,即发出信号表明中国对新加坡在台湾和南海问题上的立场非常不满。
新加坡国大法学院王江雨副教授,从新加坡国立大学法学院院长、著名国际法学家陈西文(Simon Chesterman)教授英文原版(附在文末)翻译了中文版。
王江雨个人观点
这个装甲车的事情,本来很正常的转运,许可证的事情是一点小疏忽而已,要是中新关系好,in the first place就不会扣押,但既然扣押了,也不会好说好了。从这个角度讲,如果只有一方愿意把它当作法律纠纷来解决,另一方不搭理,那么就根本解决不了。附:陈教授被西方媒体广为引用Facebook原文:International law is founded on the sovereign equality of states. Sovereign immunity is a necessary extension of that: because states are all equal, they do not normally sit in judgment of one another. Much as an ambassador enjoys diplomatic immunity from local laws as the representative of his or her state, the state itself enjoys even greater protection from local laws. China and Hong Kong could not, for example, charge Singapore with violating its import/export laws.That immunity generally extends to state property. The two main exceptions are where a state waives that immunity, or in certain circumstances if it is a purely commercial matter. Neither situation applies here: Singapore clearly has not waived its immunity and the SAF vehicles are clearly state property. (Also, Hong Kong and China do not recognise the commercial exception.)As the Minister emphasised, this argument only applies to the Singapore property in question. Whether the shipping company APL can be subject to prosecution is another matter.It is noteworthy that the official position in Hong Kong is that no decisions have been made. That offers some scope for compromise. Recent examples show that China has been willing to return state property in the past – notably the US underwater drone in December 2016. (Another example is the US EP-3 spy-plane in April 2001.)
Given China’s strong position on sovereign immunity, which it has invoked in other jurisdictions for its own protection, it would be surprising if this matter is not resolved — eventually. The delays, however, may serve a political purpose in signalling China’s apparent unhappiness with Singapore’s position on Taiwan and the South China Sea.