Sanctions, Collective Countermeasures and the EU

Abstract

Abstract The invasion of Ukraine has prompted the EU, together with other like-minded States, to adopt unprecedented economic sanctions against Russia; the international legality of autonomous sanctions is consequently under the spotlight. This article discusses EU practice concerning the adoption of sanctions (or “restrictive measures”) against non-member States with a view to determining its influence upon the development of international law. After a concise overview of EU sanctions law and policy, the article underlines that, if the majority of EU measures can be qualified as retorsions, some appear to be in conflict with international obligations deriving from treaty or customary international law. Particular attention is given to the issue of whether EU autonomous sanctions can find a legal justification, under customary international law, in an independent sanctioning competence of the EU, as a regional organisation and a multilateral actor, or in the notion of “collective countermeasures”. The article concludes that de lege lata these legal foundations are controversial. On the other hand, it underscores the unique contribution given by EU practice to the development in international law of the concept of collective countermeasures and to the consolidation of the principles of the indivisibility of human rights, democracy and the rule of law.