The Examination of Sanction Adoption and Enforcement by Regional Organizations with an Emphasis on the European Union

Sanction is an instrument by which States, international and regional organizations intend to affect their members’ and non-members’ behaviors. With respect to the adoption and enforcement of sanctions by the United Nations there are considerable literature which explores the various aspects of the issue. However, the enforcement of sanctions by regional organizations has received little attention in the literature. As to this issue, the practice of the organizations such as the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Inter-American States Organization and the European Union is worthy of elaboration. Each of these organizations have similar, and sometimes different, bases for sanction enforcement in their constitution instruments and practices. It is occasionally seen that these organizations bind themselves to the decisions of the United Nations Security Council and to implement the sanctions of this Council. This paper seeks to examine the law and the practice of some significant regional organizations in applying sanctions.