Economic Sanctions Against the Russian Federation Are Illegal under Public International Law
Abstract
In response to the Russian Federation’s purported ‘annexation’ of Crimea and the conflict between separatists in the Donbass region and the central government of Ukraine, the United States, the European Union, Japan, and Australia, the principal countries, have imposed economic sanctions upon Russian officials, firms, and private individuals. The economic sanctions imposed upon the Russian Federation violate public international law on three grounds: 1) lack of authorisation under the United Nations Charter; 2) inapplicability of Art. XXI GATT (‘Security Exceptions’); and 3) lack of legal authority based on the International Law Commission’s Draft Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts. Fidelity to the ‘rule of law’ requires an immediate withdrawal of all economic sanctions. By contrast, the international community ‘ought to’ condemn Ukraine’s indiscriminate killing of innocent citizens living in the Donbass region and support the efforts of the Russian Federation to provide humanitarian aid to the region.
About the Author
John J.A. Burke
RISEBA University
Latvia
Latvia
Professor (elect) of Law,
3 Meža iela, Riga, LV-1048
References
1. Bullough, Oliver. Welcome to Ukraine, the Most Corrupt Nation in Europe, The Guardian (Feb. 6, 2015), <http://www.theguardian.com/news/2015/feb/04/welcometo-the-most-corrupt-nation-in-europe-ukraine> (accessed Jul. 29, 2015).
2. Desierto, Diane A. The EU/US v. Russia Trade Wars: Revisiting GATT Article XXI and the International Law on Unilateral Economic Sanctions, EJIL: Talk! (Sep. 22, 2014), <http://www.ejiltalk.org/the-euus-v-russia-trade-wars-revisiting-gatt-article-xxi-and-theinternational-law-on-unilateral-economic-sanctions-2/> (accessed Jul. 29, 2015).
3. Donahue, Laura K. The Limits of National Security, 48 Am. Crim. L. Rev. 1573 (2011), available at <http://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2027&context=facpub> (accessed Jul. 29, 2015).
4. Flavier, Hugo. Russia’s Normative Influence over Post-Soviet States: The Examples of Belarus and Ukraine, 3(1) Russian Law Journal 8 (2015), available at <http://www.russianlawjournal.org/index.php/jour/article/download/67/73> (accessed Jul. 29, 2015). doi:10.17589/2309-8678-2015-3-1-6-32
5. Law of Armed Conflict Deskbook 7 (2012), at <http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/pdf/LOAC-Deskbook-2012.pdf> (accessed Jul. 29, 2015).
6. Lendman, Stephen.NATO Commander Lied Claiming ‘Russian Invasion of Ukraine,’ Global Research (Jan. 23, 2015), <http://www.globalresearch.ca/nato-commanderlied-claiming-possible-russian-invasion-of-ukraine-coming/5426437> (accessed Jul. 29, 2015).
7. Levin, Steve. The Oil and the Glory: The Pursuit of Empire and Fortune on the Caspian Sea (Random House 2007).
8. Lindsay, Peter. Note. The Ambiguity of GATT Article XXI: Subtle Success or Rampant Failure?, 52 Duke L.J. 1277 (2003), available at <http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1192&context=dlj> (accessed Jul. 29, 2015).
9. Matsushita, Mitsuo, et al. The World Trade Organization: Law, Practice, and Policy 597 (2nd ed., Oxford University Press 2006) 597.
10. Mosunova, Natalya. Are Non-Trade Values Adequately Protected under GATT Art. XX?, 2(2) Russian Law Journal 102, 105, 111 (2014), available at <http://www.russianlawjournal.org/index.php/jour/article/download/34/30> (accessed Jul. 29, 2015). doi:10.17589/2309-8678-2014-2-2-101-113
11. Quadrennial Defense Review 2014, at v, at <http://www.defense.gov/pubs/2014_Quadrennial_Defense_Review.pdf> (accessed Jul. 29, 2015).
12. Shaw, Malcolm N. International Law 251, 568–69 (7th ed., Cambridge University Press 2014).
13. Tzu, Sun. The Art of War 34 (Thomas Cleary, trans.) (Shambhala Pub. 2005).
14. Wheatley, Steven. Modelling Democratic Secession in International Law, in Nationalism and Globalisation: New Settings, New Challenges (Stephen Tierney, ed.) (Hart Pub. forthcoming), available at <http://ssrn.com:abstract=2511216> (accessed Jul. 28, 2015).
For citation:
J.A. Burke J. Economic Sanctions Against the Russian Federation Are Illegal under Public International Law. Russian Law Journal. 2015;3(3):126-141. https://doi.org/10.17589/2309-8678-2015-3-3-126-141
Views: 3032
Email this article 