Economic Sanctions

• Author: John H. Currie; Craig Forcese; Joanna Harrington; Valerie Oosterveld
• Pages: 789-804

789

CHAPTER 13

Economic Sanctions

In this chapter, we discuss economic sanctions as a tool used by states, acting either multi-

laterally or alone, to respond to violations of international law.

A. MANDATORY SANCTIONS IMPOSED BY THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL

Recall that Article  of the Charter of the United Nations provides that

The Security Council may decide what measures not involving the use of armed force are

to be employed to give eect to its decisions, and it may call upon the Members of the

United Nations to apply such measures. These may include complete or partial interrup-

tion of economic relations and of rail, sea, air, postal, telegraphic, radio, and other means

of communication, and the severance of diplomatic relations.

The measures short of force authorized by the UN Security Council (UNSC) pursuant to

Article  have typically focused on the “complete or partial interruption of economic rela-

tions,” or, in more common parlance, economic “sanctions.” Economic sanctions usually

impose constraints on the exchange of goods and services with, and on investment in a

state considered by the Security Council to be in violation of its international obligations in a

manner that poses a threat to international peace and security. Such sanctions may be very

broad in nature, prohibiting most forms of economic exchange with the target state, or may

be more tailored in scope, limiting, for example, trade in arms or commodities suspected

of fuelling local or regional conict. In fact, far from necessarily being a blunt instrument,

sanctions under Article  may be specically targeted at certain key individuals or interests

thought to be responsible for endangering international peace and security, as suggested in

the following excerpt from a legal opinion given by the Legal Bureau of the Canadian Depart-

ment of Foreign Aairs, Trade and Development (now known as Global Aairs Canada):

William R Crosbie, “Canadian Practice in International Law at the Department of Foreign

Aairs, Trade and Development in ” ()  Can YB Int’l Law  at –

The wording of Article  contemplates the ability to take actions beyond the blanket

sanctioning of states or state actors. First, Article  refers to actions comprising “com-

plete or partial interruption of economic relations.” It does not say that the economic

  June , Can TS  No , in force  October  [UN Charter].

 Reprinted with permission from The Canadian Yearbook of International Law, Volume , edited by

John H Currie, © The Canadian Yearbook of International Law, . All rights reserved. [Emphasis in

original.]

790 INTERNATIONAL LAW: DOCTRINE, PRACTICE, AND THEORY

relations have to be with the state itself, and it also anticipates that only a portion of any

economic relations might be disrupted. Second, the article explicitly anticipates inter-

rupting “rail, sea, air, postal, telegraphic, radio and other means of communication.” In

many states, such enterprises are (and were, at the time of the drafting of the UN Char-

ter) owned or controlled, in whole or in part, by private entities and individuals. It thus

cannot be said that Article  only anticipates that actions will be taken against states.

Article  also does not indicate that the disruption of economic relations or other ser-

vices can only be reactions to the actions of a state. The impetus for decisions taken under

Article  is found in Article , the wording of which is clear that actions taken under Arti-

cle  need not be limited to curtailing actions by states. . . . Article  allows the Security

Council to determine the existence of any threat to the peace or breach of the peace, and to

decide what measures shall be taken to maintain or restore international peace and security.

The possibility that non-state actors (including individuals) could be the target of such

measures has been widely accepted and welcomed by UN member states. The UNSC has

used Article  to take measures with direct eect on the liberty of individuals, such as the

creation of ad hoc criminal tribunals. With respect to economic sanctions, UNSC practice

has moved towards more “targeted” (rather than comprehensive) sanctions designed to

mitigate collateral impacts and avoid humanitarian consequences as much as possible.

When sanctions are adopted by a decision of the Security Council pursuant to Article ,

respect for such sanctions is mandatory for all UN member states by operation of Articles 

and  of the UN Charter. Consider the following summary of Canadian practice with respect

to the implementation of mandatory sanctions imposed by the Security Council:

Alan H Kessel, “Canadian Practice in International Law at the Department of Foreign Aairs

and International Trade in –” ()  Can YB Int’l Law  at –

As a member of the UN, Canada has the international legal obligation to implement into

domestic law the binding provisions of United Nations Security Council Resolutions

[UNSCRs]. In some cases, no action is required as the substance of the binding provi-

sion has already been implemented into Canadian law (i.e. in Export and Import Permits

Act (“EIPA”), Criminal Code, Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (“IRPA”) etc.). For

example, Canada need not take further steps to implement the travel bans required by

certain UNSCRs as they are already assured by provisions of the IRPA. However, if the

terms of the UNSCR create a binding obligation upon Canada that is not already imple-

mented in Canadian domestic law, it has an international obligation to act. It is in these

cases it turns to the UN Act [United Nations Act, RSC , c U-].

Article  of the UN Act states:

When, in pursuance of Article  of the Charter of the United Nations, set out in the sched-

ule, the Security Council of the United Nations decides on a measure to be employed to

give eect to any of its decisions and calls on Canada to apply the measure, the Governor

in Council may make such orders and regulations as appear to him to be necessary or

expedient for enabling the measures to be eectively applied.

 Reprinted with permission of the Publisher from The Canadian Yearbook of International Law, Volume

, edited by Donald M McRae, © University of British Columbia Press, . All rights reserved by

the Publisher.