International sanctions

An international sanction is a foreign policy measure which is aimed at supporting the preservation or restoration of peace, international security, democracy and the rule of law, observation of human rights and international law, or achieving other objectives specified in the Charter of the United Nations or the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union.

The narrow purpose of imposing an international sanction is to direct third countries or sanctioned persons to comply with the norms and principles of international law, to make the continuation of the sanctioned activity as costly and inconvenient as possible, or to prevent the unacceptable activity of the subject of the sanctions.

In the terminology of the European Union, the term ‘restrictive measure’ is also used instead of the term ‘sanction’.

International sanctions are imposed on or against a state, territory, territorial unit, organisation, institution, entity, or natural person.

As of 2024, more than 50 sanctions regimes have been established (including sanctions regimes established by the decision of the Council of the European Union and the UN Security Council). The name of the sanctions regime indicates the context in which the sanctions were imposed, but the sanctioned persons, entities, and institutions are listed in the annex to the legislation imposing the sanction (Council decision and/or regulation).

Some sanctions regimes contain obligations and prohibitions that are not linked to any particular person, but rather sectoral sanctions targeting specific industries (e.g., restrictive measures in view of Russia's actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine).

International sanctions are imposed by a resolution of the UN Security Council (on the basis of Article 41 of Chapter VII of the UN Charter), by a decision and regulation of the Council of the European Union (on the basis of Article 29 of the Treaty on European Union), or by the state (e.g. the Government of the Republic of Estonia on the basis of section 27 of the International Sanctions Act).

Theoretically, international sanctions could also be imposed by another international organisation whose decisions are binding on Estonia.

The implementation of sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council is based on Article 25 of the UN Charter and specific Security Council resolutions. International sanctions imposed by a resolution of the United Nations Security Council are implemented under the conditions laid down in the resolution with regard to the subjects of the international sanctions listed by the committee established on the basis of the resolution until the regulation of the Council of the European Union is updated or adopted. In the European Union, all UN resolutions are implemented through EU law. In the case of some regimes, the European Union has taken autonomous restrictive measures in addition to the UN sanctions, in which case the sanctions regimes are hybrid UN-EU regimes.

In the European Union, the implementation of sanctions is regulated by the Council of the European Union, in which the Member States are represented by ministers who can meet in ten different configurations.

The Council establishes regulations on the basis of Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Council regulations are directly applicable in all Member States, i.e. they have the same effect as national legislation, such as laws and regulations.

The decisions of the Council cover all restrictive measures imposed. The Council cannot establish regulations for the implementation of such restrictive measures that fall outside the areas of competence delegated to the European Union by the Member States (e.g., the prohibition on entry or an arms embargo). Within the competence of Member States, international sanctions are imposed on the basis of domestic legislation.

In addition to the sanctions regimes established by the European Union (autonomous sanctions), sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council are also implemented in the European Union. This is done through the decisions and regulations of the Council of the European Union.

Decisions of the Council of the European Union are implemented in Estonia on the basis of the directly applicable regulations of the Council and Estonian national legislation. These include the International Sanctions Act, the Strategic Goods Act, the Weapons Act, the Obligation to Leave and Prohibition on Entry Act, the Customs Act, and the Penal Code.

If it is not possible to implement an international sanction on the basis of valid national law, the Government of the Republic must adopt an additional national legal act for this purpose in accordance with subsection 9 (2) of the International Sanctions Act. In accordance with section 8 of the International Sanctions Act, sanctions imposed by a resolution of the UN Security Council is temporarily provisionally on the basis of the resolution until the regulation of the Council of the European Union is updated or adopted.

All natural and legal persons who are obligated to take the measures prescribed in the legislation implementing the international sanction or refrain from prohibited activities are required to apply the international sanction that has entered into force.

Arms embargo

The purpose of the arms embargo is to prevent weapons, military goods, and military equipment from the European Union from reaching the sanctioned country or sanctioned persons, so that it is not used in a conflict or for the development of the military industry of the sanctioned country. Member States are obliged to ensure that weapons and related material are not exported to sanctioned persons or countries. Importation or procurement from a sanctioned territory is also sometimes prohibited. In this regard, provision of technical assistance, transmission of information, financial transactions related to military activities, and other services may also be prohibited.

In addition to the arms embargo, the export of equipment that could be used for internal repression may be prohibited. Such equipment includes, for example, police equipment (vehicles equipped with water cannons, prisoner transport vehicles, barbed wire, and riot police helmets and shields). Dual-use goods (which can be used for both civilian and military purposes) may also be banned from being exported to destination countries.

Import and export licences and transit permits necessary for the import and export of such goods and their transit through Estonian territory to third countries are issued, extended, and revoked by the inter-agency Strategic Goods Commission established on the basis of the order of the Government of the Republic.

What other types of sanctions are there?

There is no exhaustive list of possible international sanctions, as sanctions change over time. In addition to the aforementioned sanctions, port entry bans, flight bans, export-import bans, bans on investments, payments, and capital movements, restrictions on the tourism sector, bans on defence cooperation, and education-related restrictions have also been imposed.