Unilateral sanctions and countermeasures in international law: problems of legitimacy and proportionality

The article is devoted to the analysis of restrictive measures of the European Union in the context of their compliance with the norms of international law. The purpose of the article is to assess the legality of certain restrictive EU measures in terms of international legal standards. It has been established that the basis for the introduction of restrictive measures is a subjective assessment of the «actual situation» by the EU itself, which gives the EU Council broad discretionary powers. Special attention is paid to the analysis of intellectual property sanctions against the Russian Federation, as well as to the assessment of the proportionality of measures such as asset freezes and broadcasting bans. As a solution, it is proposed to develop legal mechanisms to protect the rights of persons wrongfully affected by sanctions, and to require the EU to strictly comply with the procedural conditions for the use of countermeasures, as well as to assess their humanitarian consequences.