SANCTIONS, COLLECTIVE COUNTERMEASURES AND THE EU

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.