Between a rock and a hard place?’

The European Union’s financial sanctions against suspected terrorists, multilateralism and human rights

Dados Bibliográficos

ID8912422
AutoresSarah Léonard (0000-0001-8511-3829, autor correspondente), Christian Kaunert (0000-0002-4493-2235)
Ano2012
Volume47
Fascículo4
Páginas473-494
Data de publicação2012-11-27
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoCooperation and Conflict (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0010-8367 • E-ISSN: 1460-3691
EditoraSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0010836712462789
OpenAlexW2095304783
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas4
Referências citadas55

This article focuses on the financial sanctions adopted by the European Union (EU) against individuals suspected of involvement in terrorist activities. This sanctions regime has been sharply criticised for its negative impact on human rights and has seen several judicial challenges before the European Courts. In contrast with most of the existing literature, which focuses on legal issues or examines the consequences of the EU financial sanctions, this article takes a step back to examine the reasons for which the EU decided to adopt these controversial financial sanctions in the first place. This article argues that it is mainly its commitment to ‘UN-centred effective multilateralism’ that has led the EU to adopt these financial sanctions measures in order to align itself with the UN financial sanctions regime. However, the Kadi landmark ruling of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has challenged the pre-eminence of multilateralism over other considerations, such as the respect for human rights. As the Court of Justice prepares to hand down its second judgment in this case, the EU is left torn between its commitment to multilateralism and its commitment to human rights, which can be fully reconciled only if the UN sanctions regime meets the EU’s human rights standards

Economic Justice · Economics · European union · Human rights · International trade · Law and economics · Multilateralism · Political science · Politics · Sanctions · Economic Sanctions and International Relations · International Law and Human Rights · Law · Legal case studies and regulations