The legality of secondary sanctions of the United States from the International Customary and Conventional Perspectives

Regarding increasing practices of the United States in exercising unilateral sanctions against targeted States and also the third States, the study on special kinds of sanctions named" secondary sanctions", seems to be absolutely necessary.The United States, by its secondary sanctions, affected the principles of international relations such as the independence and the political and legal sovereignty of States and blemished the primary rules of international law in different fields including the international economy and trade. According to American secondary sanctions, the third international entities especially the big commercial companies which do trade in American territory, are not allowed to do business with sanctioned countries. In case of non-obedience that company will be under heavy sanctions of the American domestic law.

The present study was conducted by descriptive and analytical methods.

This research intends to study the legality of secondary sanctions from the international law perspective. For this purpose, the compatibility of the international customary and conventional rules were studied and analyzed. The output of the research demonstrates the fact that the secondary sanctions of the United States against I.R of Iran are baseless according to the international customary and conventional rules and lacks international legality. The EU practices on limiting secondary sanctions effects shows that American sanctions has not approved by States practices.