Multilateral and Unilateral Sanctions: Compliance and Challenges

An accurate definition of the term “sanctions” is cumbersome as it must reflect its modern understanding, as evidently applied in the twenty-first century: There is a widely growing area of sanctions which are imposed unilaterally (autonomously) by states on other states, on companies and even on individuals, either with or without authorization by the international community as represented by the United Nations. As a result, sanctions can be broadly defined as reactive and coercive measures applied by virtue of a decision taken by an international organization, or a group of states or individual states following a perceived breach of an international obligation. The core purpose of sanctions is the enforcement of rules by states – while the substance of those rules might be highly contentious....