The Open Access publication of this book has been published with the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation.
Are unilateral economic sanctions legal under public international law? How do they relate to the existing international legal principles and norms? Can unilateral economic sanctions imposed to redress grave human rights violations be subjected to the same legal contestations as other unilateral sanctions? What potential contribution can the recently formulated doctrine of Common Concern of Humankind make by introducing substantive and procedural prerequisites to legitimise unilateral human rights sanctions? Unilateral Sanctions in International Law and the Enforcement of Human Rights by Iryna Bogdanova addresses these complex questions while taking account of the burgeoning state practice of employing unilateral economic sanctions.
Iryna Bogdanova holds a Ph.D. degree (2020) from the World Trade Institute, University of Berne. She has published contributions analysing various aspects of economic statecraft, legality of economic sanctions, national security exceptions in international economic law and regulation of emerging technologies.
Acknowledgements
List of Tables
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
part 1 The History, Effectiveness and Legality of Unilateral Economic Sanctions 1The History and Effectiveness of Economic Coercion
1 The History of Economic Coercion: From Economic Warfare to the Enforcement of Community Interests
1.1 Economic Coercion before the Twentieth Century
1.2 Economic Sanctions in the Covenant of the League of Nations and Their Application in the Interwar Period
1.3 Economic Sanctions after World War ii
1.4 The “Sanctions Decade” and the Quest for “Smart” Sanctions
1.5 The War against Terrorism and the UN Security Council’s Targeted Sanctions
1.6 The Increased Use of Unilateral Economic Sanctions and a New Geo-Economic World Order
2 The Effectiveness of Economic Sanctions
2.1 The Objectives Pursued by Economic Sanctions
2.2 The Debate on the Effectiveness of Economic Sanctions
2.3 Strategies for Circumventing the Negative Effects of Economic Sanctions
3 Conclusion
2The Legality of Unilateral Economic Sanctions under Public International Law
1 Unilateral Economic Sanctions: In Search of Definitional Clarity
1.1 Retorsion
1.2 Reprisals
1.3 Countermeasures
1.4 Third-Party Countermeasures (Solidarity Measures, Countermeasures in the Collective Interest)
1.5 Sanctions
2 The Legality of Unilateral Economic Sanctions under the Charter of the United Nations
2.1 Unilateral Economic Sanctions as a Use of Force under Article 2(4)
2.2 Unilateral Economic Sanctions as a Violation of the Principle of Non-intervention
3 The Legality of Unilateral Economic Sanctions under the Draft Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts
3.1 Unilateral Economic Sanctions as Countermeasures
3.2 Unilateral Economic Sanctions as Third-Party Countermeasures
4 Unilateral Economic Sanctions and Established Principles of Jurisdiction in International Law
4.1 Jurisdiction in International Law
4.2 Secondary Sanctions and Their Extraterritorial Reach
4.3 Types of Primary and Secondary Unilateral Sanctions that Face a Significant Risk of Being Classed as Extraterritorial
5 Jurisdiction and the Imposition of Unilateral Financial Sanctions
5.1 The Era of Financial Warfare
5.2 Unilateral Financial Sanctions and Jurisdiction
5.3 Correspondent Account-Based Jurisdiction: A New Rule for Ascertaining Jurisdiction
6 Unilateral Economic Sanctions and the Immunities of States and State Officials
6.1 Blocking the Property of Central Banks and State-Owned Enterprises
6.2 Blocking of Property and Travel Restrictions Applicable to Heads of States and Other High-Ranking Government Officials
7 Unilateral Economic Sanctions and wto Law
7.1 Import Restrictions
7.2 Export Restrictions
7.3 Restrictions on Traffic in Transit and Goods in Transit
7.4 The Freezing of Assets and Restrictions on Financial Transactions
7.5 Visa Restrictions
7.6 Secondary Sanctions and Their Compatibility with wto Law
8 Conclusion
part 2 The International Enforcement of Human Rights and the Legality of Unilateral Human Rights Sanctions 3The International Enforcement of Human Rights
1 Human Rights Treaties and Enforcement Mechanisms
1.1 The Core Human Rights Treaties: A Short Review
1.2 Reporting Obligation
1.3 Mechanisms of Interstate Complaints
1.4 Mechanisms for Individual Complaints
1.5 Inquiry Procedure
1.6 Dispute Settlement Provisions and the Role of the International Court of Justice
1.7 The Deficiencies of Treaty-Based Enforcement Mechanisms
2 Enforcement of Human Rights That Have Acquired a Special Status
2.1 Jus Cogens
2.2 Obligations Erga Omnes
3 The Role of the Human Rights Council in the International Protection of Human Rights
4 The Role of the UN Security Council in Responding to Atrocities
4.1 Humanitarian Intervention and Responsibility to Protect (R2P)
4.2 Collective Economic Sanctions
5 Conclusion
4The Legality of Unilateral Economic Sanctions Imposed to Redress Human Rights Violations
1 Human Rights Sanctions and the Principle of Non-intervention
2 Economic Sanctions Targeting Human Rights Violations and the Draft Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts
3 Economic Sanctions Targeting Human Rights Violations and the Immunities of Heads of States and Other High-Ranking Government Officials
4 Economic Sanctions Imposed on Human Rights Grounds and wto Law
4.1 Justification under the Public Morals Exception
4.2 Justification under the National Security Exception
5 Conclusion
part 3 The Contribution of the Doctrine of Common Concern of Humankind to the International Protection of Human Rights 5The Doctrine of the Common Concern of Humankind and Its Contribution to Enhancing Human Rights Protection
1 The Evolution of the Doctrine of the Common Concern of Humankind
2 The Suggested Normative Implications of the Principle of the Common Concern of Humankind
2.1 Duty to Cooperate
2.2 Obligation to Do One’s Homework
2.3 Securing Compliance
3 The Introduction of the Doctrine of Common Concern of Humankind into International Human Rights Law
3.1 The Reasons behind States’ Abuses of Human Rights
3.2 The Concept of the Essence of Human Rights (Kerngehalt) as a Threshold to Define Human Rights as a “Common Concern”
3.3 Systematic Human Rights Violations as an Additional Criterion
3.4 Grave Human Rights Violations as a Threat to International Peace and Security
4 The Potential of the Principle of the Common Concern of Humankind in International Human Rights Law
4.1 Reinforced Duty to Cooperate
4.2 The Domestication of International Human Rights Obligations
4.3 An Instrument for Providing Legality and Legitimacy to Unilateral Economic Sanctions
4.4 An Instrument to Empower Civil Society
5 Conclusion
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
This book would appeal to the academic community – scholars in the field of international law, political science and international relations, and practising lawyers. Furthermore, it may appeal to students without any profound knowledge in the field.