Abstract
Sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council affect large numbers of people, businesses and governments worldwide. Yet concerns about the fairness and clarity of the processes by which individuals and entities are listed as sanctions targets and delisted, have threatened at times over the last two decades to disrupt the effective, universal implementation of UN sanctions regimes – particularly in the counter-terrorism field. Courts, especially but not only in Europe, have held that States and other authorities implementing UN counterterrorism sanctions cannot give effect to UN sanctions listings without first ensuring respect for certain minimum due process standards. Meeting those standards has sometimes been held to require judicial review of the listing decisions by the Security Council. The fairness and clarity of sanctions processes have thus emerged as an important determinant of the implementation and impact of UN sanctions – at least in the counter-terrorism sphere. To date, similar concerns have only rarely been raised in relation to the Security Council's sanctions regimes focused on addressing other global security concerns, such as armed conflicts and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.