Search: extraterritorial sanctions
17 Sep Uniting for Peace in Gaza: A Test for the General Assembly
...have caused harm, such as by leading to deaths at distribution points. To my knowledge, there is no direct precedent of this nature. However, the essence of the plea is in line with earlier resolutions and with the UN’s work to mitigate humanitarian suffering, even when caused indirectly. A striking example is the case of the UN comprehensive sanctions on Iraq in the 1990s. Comprehensive sanctions were blamed for causing widespread humanitarian harm, particularly to children. In response, the Assembly urged exemptions and adjustments, and its continued pressure contributed to...26 Jan Self-Interest and Compliance
...either had to seek changes to the tax code or face sanctions through the WTO system. The President (and Congress) chose to change the tax code. The cost of non-compliance—trade sanctions with potentially significant economic effects—outweighed the cost of compliance—some companies being upset. These are the “hard cases” when it comes to compliance with international law because the mode of reasoning and decision-making is not primarily legal, but political (or diplomatic). In this form of decision making, the question of compliance is driven by an analysis of power: which is...12 Dec Enforcing the Law and Punishing Syria
...from vetoing any sanctions? My guess is that international opinion and pressure will be so overwhelming that Russia will go along with any punishment against the Syrian state, but that the punishment will be sadly weak. Sanctions are a fairly inefficient tool of statecraft, have little effect (link is to the JSTOR database; subscription required), and typically punish the civilian population more than political leadership (I’ll consider the problem of sanctions in a post later this week). So, for those of you who have faith in the UN and international...
11 Sep Libya and International Justice Symposium: Justice, Delayed
...system has collapsed. Lawyers, judges and prosecutors are also prime targets of militias. The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has a mandate to investigate war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Libya yet the prosecutor has issued only one arrest warrant since 2011: against Mahmoud el-Werfalli, a commander linked to the LNA, for extrajudicial executions. The UN sanctions have been underused: only eight people have been listed for individual targeted sanctions since the 2011 revolution, including two militia commanders and six people involved in trafficking. Attempts to...20 Nov Judging the “Power” of International Law
...and liberal internationalists alike have appealed selectively to historical events and ideas as well as to legal decisions and standards to construct their case for the weakness and irrelevance (non-existence?) versus strength and importance of the international legal system in international affairs. One example is regularly countered by another. Mary Ellen claims that the existence of sanctions alone shows that actors who matter take international rules seriously. I suspect that Jack and Eric would retort that sanctions are yet another justification that the powerful clothe in some-time principle to further...23 Aug Ruth Wedgwood on the Lockerbie Release, and the Politics of Security Council Resolutions
...policy began with the Bush Administration’s [Bush Sr.] decision in 1991-92 to judicialize the Pan Am 103 matter rather than to use force, in effect treating this Libyan act of terror like a domestic murder case, rather than the political-military attack that it was. Ruth remarks in her article that the Lockerbie trial chamber was organized under pressure of Security Council resolutions (SC Resolution 731 (1992) deploring Libya’s lack of cooperation with investigators, and SC Resolution 748 (1992) imposing sanctions on Libya): In response to the bombing, the Americans mobilized...26 Sep Iran’s Nuclear Program and International Law: From Confrontation to Accord
...and consideration of the JCPOA itself. Essentially, Chapter 7 of the book (also publicly accessible here on my SSRN page) is a full chapter-length review and analysis of the legal implications of the JCPOA, on issues including Iran’s safeguards obligations, and the economic sanctions levied against Iran by the U.N. Security Council and by the U.S. and E.U. acting unilaterally. The book thus follows the Iran case study through the period of confrontation between Iran and the West from 2002 through July 2015, setting this confrontation in its historical and...01 Feb Events and Announcements: 1 February 2026
...The event will shed light on ELI’s eponymous project, which explores and addresses the legal complexities of constraining assets in response to reprehensible state conduct. Confirmed Speakers include: Sir Geoffrey Vos (ELI First Vice-President; Master of the Rolls and Head of Civil Justice in England and Wales),Philippa Webb (Professor, University of Oxford), Burkhard Hess (Professor, University of Vienna), Oxana Gisca(President of the Conference of the Parties to CETS 198 (COP CETS 198), Council of Europe), Michael Stelzer(Head of Unit, Financial Sector Stability and Security, Enforcement and Sanctions – Sanctions, European...
08 Mar Revisiting Crimea and the Utility of International Law
...a useful role in standard setting and, when those standards are not adhered to, in imposing sanctions or counter measures. Whether those sanctions and counter measures are effective for the use of force is reflective of political will rather than a deficiency in the law. During its annexation of Crimea, Russia attempted to use international law to shield its actions from scrutiny and avoid consequences for breaching the prohibition on the use of force. Rather than marking a failure of the law, the Crimean situation highlighted that even though international...