Sanctions Lists – Concept, History, Legal Nature. An Outline of Issues

Abstract

The paper offers a reflection on the emergence and operation of the Polish sanctions list as a sui generis legal institution straddling the domains of administrative and international law, governed by specific rules for its establishment and amendment, and serving as the principal repository of information on sanction targets and the types of measures imposed. The author focuses on the analysis of sanctions lists as a tool of international politics and law and on their legal nature in the context of sanctions imposed by the European Union against individuals and entities from the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus in connection with Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, as well as on the Polish implementation of the sanction system by the Act of 13 April 2022 on special measures to counteract the support of aggression against Ukraine and to protect national security. The author presents the sanctions list as a key, formal instrument for applying sanctions against the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus by identifying individuals, legal entities and other organizational units. The main issues addressed in the article are as follows: 1) the definition and significance of the sanctions list as a tool for imposing international sanctions of a financial and isolating nature; 2) the legal nature of sanctions lists as administrative decisions and the prerequisites for placing individuals and entities on the sanctions list; 3) the effects and mechanism of operation of sanctions lists, with particular emphasis on the functioning of the Polish sanctions list managed by the Minister of the Interior and Administration on the basis of the Act of 13 April 2022 – by enumerating individuals and institutions subject to sanctions, these lists determine specific restrictions, such as asset freezes, entry bans to certain countries or limitations on financial transactions; 4) the types of entities included on the Polish sanctions list and the prerequisites for their inclusion.