The interfaces between the national and international rule of law: the case of UN targeted sanctions

The interfaces between national and international law have significantly evolved due to subject-matter overlap between national and international law. The restriction of governmental authority by the ’rule of law’ is no exception in this regard. International scholarship has so far largely examined the national reception of the international rule of law. Much less recognised is the international perspective: namely, as to how the international rule of law understands, accepts, or resists the national rule of law. This paper examines the international reception of national rule of law practices within a specific regulatory context of UN targeted sanctions. Member states’ exercise of authority and the UN Security Council’s listing decisions bear resemblance to each other, which creates the conditions for the interfaces between the national and international rule of law. A series of judicial contestations formally based on the national rule of law were translated into normative, theoretical, and political forces at the international level, leading to the generation and materialisation of the principles of fairness and transparency as one of the elements of the international rule of law.