Fabbrini, Federico --- "Global sanctions, state secrets and supranational review: seeking due process in an interconnected world" [2013] ELECD 686; in Cole, David; Fabbrini, Federico; Vedaschi, Arianna (eds), "Secrecy, National Security and the Vindication of Constitutional Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2013) 284

Book Title: Secrecy, National Security and the Vindication of Constitutional Law

Editor(s): Cole, David; Fabbrini, Federico; Vedaschi, Arianna

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781781953853

Section: Chapter 17

Section Title: Global sanctions, state secrets and supranational review: seeking due process in an interconnected world

Author(s): Fabbrini, Federico

Number of pages: 18

Abstract/Description:

In the twenty-first century, the fight against terrorism has increasingly acquired a global dimension. States and international organizations have developed cooperative instruments to tackle the terrorist threat, notably through the adoption of administrative measures for freezing the assets of individuals and entities suspected of financing terrorism. The sanctions adopted at the global level have a profound impact on fundamental rights and not surprisingly courts in multiple jurisdictions – including in the supranational framework of the European Union (EU) – have been called upon to review their legality. In recent years, courts, especially in the EU, have begun taking seriously their task to protect core due process rights and have demanded that natural and legal persons subjected to global financial sanctions be provided with the evidence that assertedly justifies the restrictive measures against them. Despite their solicitude, however, EU courts have been confronted with a new challenge. Supranational and international institutions often do not have access to the evidence, which is possessed, and secretly held, mainly by the United States (US) – the country with the most sophisticated intelligence apparatus worldwide and that has been at the forefront of the global fight against terrorism. The purpose of this chapter is to explore the intricacies that arise from supranational review of global sanctions based on state secrets and to suggest ways in which due process for designated individuals and entities could be sought in our interconnected world. The chapter takes stock of the recent decision of the EU General Court (GC) in Kadi II