Current ways to protect the rights and ensure the economic security of Russian individuals and legal entities in the context of international economic sanctions

Abstract

Restrictive measures, or so-called “sanctions”, were introduced by the countries of the European Union against the Russian Federation, its citizens, and legal entities in 2014. The introduction of restrictive measures was initially seen as a threat to Russia’s economic security and sovereignty, so the Russian authorities were forced to respond by introducing retaliatory measures, or counter-sanctions. The subject of this article is the various possibilities for defending or challenging the imposed restrictive measures provided for by the legislation of the European Union and its member States, as well as the most famous and significant cases of appealing against these sanctions. The aim of the study is to systematize various ways of challenging restrictive measures in the bodies of the European Union, to develop a mechanism for such a challenge, as well as to collect statistical information on completed cases in which sanctions against certain persons were successfully challenged, or the lifting of restrictive measures was refused. The relevance of the topic is expressed in the unrelenting pressure of foreign states on the sovereignty and economic security of Russia. The scientific novelty is due to the lack of systematic research on the mechanisms for challenging sanctions. The authors apply descriptive, historical, and comparative analysis methods. The authors identified a certain mechanism of opportunities and tools for challenging restrictive measures in the bodies of the European Union, as well as defined a chain of actions to launch an appeal mechanism for certain restrictive measures. The authors conclude that stakeholders should initiate and participate in sanctions appeal procedures as there is good practice in lifting restrictive measures.