Making Sanctions Work: Political, Legal, and Economic Challenges of EU Restrictive Measures - 2023

Programme Description

This is the page of the 2023 edition of the Making Sanctions Work: Political, Legal, and Economic Challenges of EU Restrictive Measures. The applications are now open for the 2024 edition: you may find more information here.

The sanctions packages adopted by the EU in the last months, which intend to intensify pressure on Russia’s government and economy, have resurged traditional debates over relevant issues concerning the political, legal and economic reach of restrictive measures. Regarding politics, for instance, the legitimacy of international sanctions has been challenged on the basis of their unilateral coercive nature, and also as an instrument that is capable of affecting domains that go beyond its strict targets. Issues of uniform implementation and effective enforcement were also brought up, resulting in a number of initiatives at the EU level.

On the legal side, international sanctions have become one of the most voluminous fields of litigation before EU Courts. Through their case-law, they actually shape the limits of this impactful foreign policy tool, giving an answer to unresolved questions relating to procedural rights of the sanctioned persons, the burden and standard of proof, the scope of judicial review, confidentiality, damages, etc. The Ukraine crisis and the restrictive measures adopted against Russia have also made apparent numerous private law issues, which, in essence, call for an action that guarantees legal certainty for private operators.

Finally, the economics of the international sanctions put in place by the EU against Russia have awaken a singular interest among scholars and specialists. The key words in that regard are ‘effectiveness’ and ‘impact’. Are EU sanctions effective as tools for conditioning Russia's actions? Can those measures be designed so as to reduce the negative impact in EU’s economy?

In the second edition of this executive training programme that is designed and delivered jointly by EU policymakers and leading academics, participants will acquire an analytical and practical toolkit for understanding sanctions from various angles – legal, economic, political – and for evaluating their effectiveness.

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Learning outcomes

By the end of this programme, the participants will be able to:

• Identify the most relevant political, legal and economic challenges raised by the EU restrictive measures system and the international context within which they operate;
• Recognise the different packages of restrictive measures adopted by the EU in the current Ukraine crisis and compare them with those adopted in other foreign jurisdictions;
• Distinguish the different mechanisms whereby EU restrictive measures become law, and the practical implications of their enforcement including possible remedies to address extraterritorial effects;
• Categorise the legal means by which judicial review of EU restrictive measures is ensured by the Courts of the EU;
• Assess the impact of EU judicial doctrines on the development of EU fundamental rights protection;
• Evaluate the degree of economic effectiveness and political legitimacy of restrictive measures, as well as their placement within the EU’s external policy and their geopolitical potential.

 

Learning methods

• By joining knowledge transfer sessions led by accomplished practitioners, lawyers and academics, with deep experience of the key issues of law and policy of restrictive measures;
• Through active participation in three online training sessions and two days of interactive residential training focusing on the topical issues and main challenges posed by the implementation and judicial review of the EU sanctions policy;
• By blending experts’ inputs and learners’ interaction (case-study discussions on decision-making scenarios), this executive training also creates an enabling environment for peer-learning and networking.

 

Who should attend

• Civil servants of national administrations, including diplomats, in particular those involved in European affairs;
• Practising lawyers before EU and national courts;
• Researchers focusing on international law and EU international relations and external policy;
• Civil servants of EU institutions and services working in the field of restrictive measures;
• Compliance officers.

 

Information for applicants

• The online part of the training will start with live online sessions (via Zoom) on 11, 14 and 18 April 2023.
• Participants will be enrolled to our Virtual Learning Environment (Brightspace) to access the training materials. Some pre-training readings might be necessary.
• Participants will have access to optional Quizzes in which they will be able to assess their knowledge.
• A discussion board will be active for the whole duration of the course for additional questions and topics for discussion.
• The residential part of the training will take place in Florence at the Palazzo Buontalenti, the campus of the EUI School of Transnational Governance (Via Cavour 65) on 20 and 21 April 2023.
• Participants are expected to make their own travel and accommodation arrangements for the duration of the residential part of the course.

 

Previous edition

This executive training builds on the successful first edition that took place in April 2022. This programme brought together 25 participants from organisations such as the EEAS, the EIB, the Council of the EU, four different governments, the UN, and several banks and legal offices. The participants wrote the following about the course:

• “It was a well-balanced course rich in content covering many facets of sanctions so it fully met my expectations.”
• “I liked everything, the organisation was smooth, the topics and lectures were interesting and engaging.”
• “Enjoyed every single session and got to know colleagues from different backgrounds and from all over the world.”