Search: extraterritorial sanctions
14 Nov Symposium on Erin Pobjie’s Prohibited Force: Use of Force as Family Resemblances – A Cautionary Take
...rule prohibiting intervention in the internal affairs of other states, the rules on territorial integrity banning extraterritorial enforcement action, international human rights law (and its extraterritorial application, as required), among others. By contrast, the finding of a violation of the prohibition to use force seems much more likely to create the expectation of a harsher response, than the violation of any other international rule. When all we see is nails, we are likely to only use a hammer. In sum, I suggest that the complex framework advocated in Prohibited Force...
17 Jun Symposium on the 1951 Refugee Convention at 75: Everlasting Cornerstone of Refugee Protection in Europe
...the Court affirmed that the principle of non-refoulement applies extraterritorially where a State exercises effective control, including on the high seas. It found violations of article 3, A4P4, and article 13 on account of the applicants’ return to Libya, the lack of individual examination (para. 185) and the absence of an effective remedy (paras. 205-206). As the first ECtHR case on extraterritorial interception-at-sea, the Hirsi judgment was highly important in extending the jurisdiction of human rights beyond the territorial borders of a State. The judgment drew specifically on the 1951...
03 Sep Stripped There, Held Here: Iraq’s Burden in the Global Failure to Repatriate ISIS Foreign Terrorist Fighters
...high-risk detainees escaped, illustrates how rapidly such risks can translate into renewed cycles of violence. By contrast, some States have sought to address the challenges posed by foreign terrorist fighters through expanded extraterritorial jurisdiction over terrorism offences. France amended its legislation in 2012 to assert jurisdiction over nationals and habitual residents involved in terrorist activity abroad, while the United Kingdom’s Serious Crime Act 2015 broadened the scope of the Terrorism Act 2006 to encompass preparatory acts and terrorist training conducted overseas. These frameworks demonstrate that States possess legal tools to...
08 Jul Is the Captain a Code? Redefining the “Genuine Link” under the Law of the Sea in the Age of Maritime Algorithmic Architecture
...of “dark fleets” (meaning vessels operating under opaque ownership and obscure flags to bypass international sanctions) requires a re-evaluation of maritime jurisdiction that transcends traditional security concerns. Although fully autonomous dark fleets remain rare today, even partial automation already raises critical doctrinal questions for flag State jurisdiction. An example is the recent surge in sophisticated AIS-spoofing in the Baltic Sea and the Persian Gulf, where vessels use algorithmic coordinates to broadcast false positions, effectively creating “ghost footprints” that mask illicit ship-to-ship transfers. In addition, the 2023 explosion of the tanker...
18 Dec The War on Drugs is not a War (Part II): Classification Challenges
...a battlefield is, in law, still a law-enforcement space. Part I examined how States have justified and conducted foreign military or law-enforcement interventions against drug cartels, through three distinct legal models: the United States’ claim of extraterritorial self-defense, China’s consent-based cross-border enforcement on the Mekong, and Afghanistan’s joint operations grounded in host-State consent. Part II explores how other States—Colombia, Ecuador, and Mexico—have faced similar dilemmas in classifying drug-related violence. It examines how each has navigated the boundary between organized crime and armed conflict, and what these choices reveal about the...
24 Sep Too Little, Too Late? On the Meaning and Consequences of the Recognition of the State of Palestine
...and hard resources. Some States have made important moves, including South Africa and Nicaragua at the ICJ. Still others, like Spain and Belgium have imposed limited sanctions on Israel. But if the last 23 months of genocide shows us anything, it’s that the vast majority of other States – friend and foe alike – are still either unwilling or unable to do what is required to save the Palestinian people, no matter how bad things get. Second, Palestine lacks the fundamental material, economic and human resources to defend itself. It...
26 Sep Jus ad Bellum Under Strain: The Illegality of the June 2025 Strikes and September’s Legal Risk Picture
...and vague on modalities. In parallel, the UK‑France‑Germany trio (the E3) have triggered the UN “snapback” process to restore sanctions, with signals they could pause it if Iran restores full inspection access and re‑engages in U.S. nuclear talks. Meanwhile, Washington now characterizes the U.S. strikes as having degraded Iran’s capacity but likely only for “months,” even as it publicly presses for complete dismantlement of enrichment and reprocessing in Iran. Regionally, Iran’s retaliatory missile launch toward the U.S. Al Udeid base in Qatar (intercepted with no casualities) underscored the ease with...
20 Feb Assessing Syria’s Progress Since Assad
...Bank report, Syria’s economy has been severely damaged by 14 years of conflict and international sanctions, with GDP shrinking by more than 50 percent since 2010. Around 16.5 million Syrians need humanitarian assistance, and nearly 90 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, while about 60 percent suffers from food insecurity. Reconstruction costs are estimated at approximately $216 billion, nearly ten times Syria’s current annual GDP. The most notable positive impact on economic prospects was the gradual lifting of U.S. sanctions. In May 2025, Donald Trump’s administration issued...
07 Aug Fifteen Years After Sri Lanka’s Civil War Ended, a Different Approach to Transitional Justice is Needed
...especially at the U.N. Human Rights Council. The international community has minimally stepped in to fill the accountability vacuum, for example through attempts at bringing universal and extraterritorial jurisdiction cases; the establishment of the U.N.’s Sri Lanka Accountability Project; and the sanctioning of alleged perpetrators. Accountability measures at the international level should be amplified, particularly because many victims justifiably do not trust the Sri Lankan government to address rights violations. However, for long-term change in Sri Lanka, genuine, victim and people-centered TJ processes are needed in-country. For this to occur,...
11 Oct Rethinking International Law After Gaza Symposium: Trade, Resistance and International Law – Responding to Atrocities
...world states violate human rights, rule-of-law-abiding weapons manufacturers in the first world respond to the conscience of humanity by adhering to their extraterritorial human rights obligations (see, EU Criterion Two). However, when benevolent and civilised states commit atrocities, these actions are often dismissed as the unfortunate consequences of war. The suspension of arms trade is not even considered until the scale of the atrocities becomes too significant to ignore. When it’s raining bombs, trade becomes a passive factor against carnages and barbarisms of weapon-yielding entities, states or non-state entities or...