The Nada Case Before The ECtHR: A New Milestone In The European Debate On Security Council Targeted Sanctions And Human Rights Obligations

Abstract:

UN sanctions have been widely used in the last few decades, raising a number of legal questions, particularly since they have been imposed on targeted individuals. Listed people have indeed complained of human rights violations and of the unavailability of effective remedies.

The case examined here is that of Mr Nada, a man listed under Resolution 1267 of the sanctions regime in 2001, and who was consequently subjected to a travel ban and a freezing of assets. The Swiss Federal Court took a traditional position by judging in 2007 that Switzerland, by implementing Security Council resolutions, did not violate Mr Nada’s human rights. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) took a different approach, continuing the trend of several international courts which have taken more progressive stances on similar questions in order to protect the human rights of listed people. By reviewing the national implementation of targeted sanctions and examining ways to harmonise obligations under different regimes, the ECtHR both protected human rights and strengthened a workable method to deal with fragmentation.