Unilateral Extraterritorial Sanctions: Issues of Jurisdictional Justification in International Law
Abstract
The contemporary international legal system is undergoing serious transformation related to expanding practice of coercive measures applied by individual states beyond of national territory. The author analyzes legal foundations and limitations of modern approaches to justifying state competence in the sphere of restrictive measures. The evolution of terminological system from classical concepts of «countermeasures» and «retorsions» by the International Law Commission to modern politically motivated terms «sanctions», «restrictive measures», and «autonomous sanctions» is studied. Based on analysis of restrictive measures practice by various states, main types of extraterritorial measures are identified by subject composition, nature of impact, scope of objectives, and mechanism of action. Traditional principles of jurisdiction are examined: territoriality, nationality, and protective principle. Legal aspects of their application to extraterritorial measures are explored in detail, including extensive interpretation of territorial principle through «correspondent jurisdiction» and «effects doctrine» concepts, application of nationality principle to controlled companies and exported goods, unjustified extension of protective principle to foreign policy interests. Special attention is paid to legal analysis of secondary sanctions as the most problematic form of extraterritorial coercion. Through practical cases (Helms-Burton Act, BNP Paribas case, sanctions against Russia and Iran), key legal problems are analyzed: non-compliance with requirements of significant jurisdictional nexus, violation of proportionality principle, conflict with sovereign equality principle. The influence of geographic asymmetry in extraterritorial measures application on impossibility of customary international law norm formation is demonstrated. Systemic deficiencies of the «anti-avoidance» concept are revealed. The fundamental conflict between sovereignty principle and effectiveness of restrictive measures under institutional crisis of collective security system is analyzed. Directions for international legal regulation development are proposed, including strengthening multilateral mechanisms, improving judicial procedures, and creating procedural guarantees against abuse of coercive measures.
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