[Panel Discussion] Secondary Sanctions and the international legal order

We live in an age of sanctions. For geopolitical reasons, powerful states and economic blocs increasingly impose unilateral measures restricting economic or financial dealings with certain target states. These sanctions may apply to transactions between the sanctioning state and a target country but may at times also extend to transactions between third states and the target state. Through the adoption of ‘secondary’ sanctions, states aim to further isolate the target. The extraterritorial character of secondary sanctions makes them controversial, as they impinge on third states’ economic sovereignty and the latter’s operators’ freedom to conduct international business.

During this event, the panellists addressed the legality of secondary sanctions from multiple legal perspectives, such as general international law, international economic law, and private law. They highlighted the issues that arise in legal practice and examined how third states and economic operators can legally react against secondary sanctions.

Introduction by Prof. Cedric Ryngaert (Professor of Public International Law, Utrecht University) 02:00 - 10:33

Panel 1: Secondary sanctions from a public international law perspective
Prof. Tom Ruys (Professor of Public International Law, Ghent University) 10:50 - 29:20
Felipe Rodríguez Silvestre (PhD candidate in Public International Law, Ghent University) 29:45 - 42:50
Prof. Larissa van den Herik (Professor of Public International Law, Leiden University) 43:00 - 59:30
Q&A 59:35 - 1:15:15

Panel 2: Secondary sanctions from an international economic and private law perspective 1:15:30
Dr. Geraldo Vidigal (Associate Professor in International Law, University of Amsterdam) 1:16:03 - 1:25:24
Celia Challet (PhD candidate in European Law, Ghent University) 1:25:24 - 1:31:10
Dr. Mercédeh Azeredo da Silveira (Partner, AZHA Avocats - Attorneys-at-Law , Geneva) 1:31:15 - 1:42:40
Yvo Amar (Attorney-at-Law, Agorax, Amsterdam) 1:42:45 - 1:55:40
Q&A 1:55:47 - 2:03:50

Closing by Prof. Cedric Ryngaert (Professor of Public International Law, Utrecht University) 2:03:54 - 2:04:33

Moderation: James Patrick Sexton (PhD researcher, T.M.C Asser Instituut and the University of Amsterdam)