Search: extraterritorial sanctions

[Javier Eskauriatza is an Assistant Professor in criminal law at the University of Nottingham School of Law. He is also the Co-Director of the Criminal Justice Research Centre, and the Convener of the Criminal Law and Criminal Justice stream for the Society of Legal Scholars.] On 24 April 2024, twelve U.S. Senators (Republican Party) sent a letter to Karim Khan, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (‘ICC’), threatening him, other Court officials, and their families, with ‘sanctions’ and other less specific consequences if arrest warrants were to be issued...

...Lukashenko holds effective control of the state, and in brutal crackdowns, suppresses the democratic opposition, forcing the projected winner of the 2020 election, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, to flee the country. Poland and Lithuania offered significant support for the oppressed Belarusians, granting them asylum (Tischanovskaya herself was granted asylum in Lithuania). Lukashenko’s actions were condemned by the EU and NATO and new sanctions were imposed on the regime, as international isolation of Lukashenko progressed, with their only ally being the Russian Federation.  In spring 2021 Lukashenko started to highlight in his public...

...already been established by ordinary tribunals. On the other hand, to guarantee victims’ rights to justice and reparations, the Special Jurisdiction should impose sanctions and order reparation measures in accordance with international standards. To put it simply, the JEP should make sure that reduced prison sentences, suspended sentences and other benefits are not perceived as effectively granting impunity to perpetrators. This is particularly important since, for example, in cases where the JEP considers that the perpetrators’ acknowledgement of their criminal responsibility is complete and comprehensive, it will impose non-custodial sentences,...

...threat of effective sanctions (article 6.2.).  There is an opportunity in this development: whereas the weight of large corporations in an increasingly globalised world is often seen as a threat, it could potentially become a force for the good, if the most influential of these actors effectively must use their leverage on suppliers and business partners and within the multinational groups they belong to to improve human rights compliance.  But there is also a risk. Due diligence should not degrade into a box-ticking exercise, shielding companies from any form of...

...universal jurisdiction mechanisms to pursue accountability through judicial means have been, as noted by Azarova and Mariniello, “thwarted by political pressures and legislative amendments to ensure political vetting.” In particular, ongoing pressure from the United States has undermined the viability of domestic courts as vehicles for international justice for Palestinians. It would appear that the US intends to continue to shield Israeli perpetrators from accountability, as evidenced by continued US sanctions on key members of ICC staff, including the Prosecutor, through the widely-condemned Executive Order 13928. This is the landscape...

...the proposed future status of Ukraine as a permanently neutral state, and several other issues.  Ukraine has demanded that a potential permanently neutral status must be balanced by security guarantees. If they come about, these assurances will most likely be reflected in a declaration or treaty of guarantee involving Ukraine and the guarantor states.  Presumably the Russian Federation will seek assurances from the principal states that have imposed economic sanctions as to an agreed programme of sanctions-lifting, in parallel with implementation of the agreement between the Russian Federation and Ukraine....

...of agricultural facilities are directly linked to possible war crimes, other tactics are disguised, e.g. promises to unblock ports and allow grain export from Ukraine in exchange for lifting sanctions imposed on Russia, which would inevitably feed its war machine.  The immediate consequences of Russia’s conduct are both internal and external. In Ukraine, while the number of starvation-related casualties is yet to be established, about 10.2 million residents urgently need food and livelihood assistance. The population of a once food-secure country and major grain exporter has, thus, been forced to...

...for intervening in Syria. The Panama government has said that the undeclared shipment of Cuban weapons found on board a North Korean ship are a “violation” of UN sanctions against arms transfers to North Korea. Rwanda blocked a joint US-French proposal to impose UN sanctions on two senior commanders in the M23 rebel group in the eastern DRC, arguing that the evidence against the men was weak. In related news, a UN peacekeeper from Tanzania was killed and three others were wounded in an operation with the Congolese army to...

Each year, pursuant to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, the Department of State submits to Congress a report on countries’ efforts to eliminate human trafficking. The report divides countries into three tiers, with Tier 1 including countries that have made significant efforts to comply with U.S. law’s minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking in persons, and Tier 3 including countries that have failed to make such efforts. Tier 3 countries risk losing non-humanitarian, non-trade-related assistance from the U.S.; since 2003, full or partial sanctions have been imposed on Burma,...

Georgia’s President Mikhal Saakashvili has conceded defeated in Monday’s parliamentary elections. Benjamin Netanyahu appears to have softened his stance on military action against Iran, allowing more space for sanctions to take effect until at least mid-2013. The territorial dispute over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands is blamed for the decision of major Chinese banks to pull out of the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings that are scheduled to take place in Tokyo next week. Ralls Corp, a company owned by two Chinese nationals, has sued President Obama after he invoked national...

...obligations States have towards them as a people, and can be a positive step in contributing to the remedying of Israel’s violation of the right to self-determination. Yet with the ongoing genocide, the spectacle of recognition appears to serve not merely as a distraction, but a substitute for existing State obligations, enabling States to pat themselves on the back while the genocide rages on. The obligation to suppress the genocide through all legal means, to prevent war crimes, and to end the occupation, including through sanctions, arms embargos, and expelling...

...arguing for dismissal).   When the Appeals Chamber reversed the Pre-Trial Chamber ruling and opened the Afghanistan investigation, the Trump Administration imposed sanctions (travel bans and asset freezes) on the past ICC Prosecutor and members of her staff, basically for looking into accountability for US nationals. Despite US claims that the ICC lacked “jurisdiction,” the crime were committed within the territory of Afghanistan (a Rome Statute State Party), and thus ones over which the ICC has clear jurisdiction (Rome Statute, Art. 12(2)(a)). Now, ironically, when the Biden Administration has lifted those...