Unilateral coercive measures and international law

Since the first Gulf War the world has seen a marked increase in the deployment of unilateral restrictive measures - sanctions imposed by individual states or groups of states against other states or private entities. The deployment of these measures is usually justified as a countermeasure against...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Miron, A, Tzanakopoulos, A
Format: Internet publication
Language:English
Published: SSRN 2022
Description
Summary:Since the first Gulf War the world has seen a marked increase in the deployment of unilateral restrictive measures - sanctions imposed by individual states or groups of states against other states or private entities. The deployment of these measures is usually justified as a countermeasure against alleged human rights violations. While the international framework for the use of sanctions through the United Nations Security Council is clearly provided for in customary international law, the trend in the application of unilateral restrictive measures is less clear in terms of its legality. This legal review sheds some light on the legal basis surrounding these measures, examining the historical record and surveying the treaties and international agreements which have a bearing on the legality of restrictive measures under international law.