Sanctions

“ In view of the fact that the imposition of sanctions against states which are found to be out of conformity are mandatory, we exert every effort at our command to bring a state into conformity without the necessity of a formal hearing. ”

“ That no less than fifty nations of the world, all members of the League of Nations, should have, after mature deliberation, recognized and been led to pronounce their verdict against an act of aggression which in their judgment has been deliberately committed by one of their fellow-members, one of the foremost Powers of Europe; that they should have, for the most part, agreed to impose collectively sanctions on the condemned aggressor, and should have succeeded in carrying out, to a very great measure, their decision, is no doubt an event without parallel in human history. ”

“ In case that by any public disturbance a government contrary to the principles which it sanctions shall be established, as soon as the people recover their liberty its observance shall be reestablished, and in accordance with it and the laws which shall have been issued in virtue of it, shall be judged not only those who shall have figured in the government emanating from the rebellion, but also those who shall have cooperated with it. ”

“ To give men the protection of laws, which they do not acknowledge, and the sanctions of which it is impossible to enforce, is a one-sided arrangement, which is likely to press heavily on the other subjects of the empire brought in contact with them. ”

“ These freedoms are delicate and vulnerable, as well as supremely precious in our society. The threat of sanctions may deter their exercise almost as potently as the actual application of sanctions. Cf. ”

“ Indeed, during the discussion as to the system of sanctions, certain delegations declared that their countries were in a special situation by reason of their geographical position or the state of their armaments. These countries desired to co-operate to the fullest extent of their resources in resistance to every act of aggression, but they drew attention to their special conditions. ”

“ Only so far as the community of nations can and does by sanctions compel obedience, can we with propriety assert the existence of international law. Even among nations, however, there may be moral as well as physical sanctions. ”

“ Furthermore, as soon as the Council has called upon the Members of the League to apply sanctions, as provided in Article 15d, the said Members of the League may, in accordance with any agreements which they may previously have concluded, bring to the assistance of a particular State, which is the victim of aggression, their military, naval and air forces. ”

“ None the less, objective criteria are supplied which define the obligation of each signatory; it is bound, in resistance to an act of aggression, to collaborate loyally and effectively in applying the sanctions in accordance with its geographical situation and its particular situation as regards armaments. ”

“ In such a case, it might probably puzzle the acumen even of those who can comprehend the theory of moral guilt, to decide which was the obligation and which the sanction. And if the existence of some common superior, was necessary to give validity to sanctions, the obligations contracted by States, could never be rightfully enforced by other States, so long as the equality of States is conceded. Yet no man before this author, has ever doubted the existence of such a right. ”

“ When Congress deals with a specific evil in a specific way, subject to specified sanctions, it is not reasonable to require Congress to add, 'and hereafter the States may not also punish for this very offense,' to preclude the States from outlawing the same specific evil under different sanctions. ”

“ The sanctions of the Covenant [4] are an economic and financial blockade. These sanctions may be applied either as against a Member of the League which resorts to war contrary to the provisions of the Covenant or they may be applied against a non-Member of the League which resorts to war against a Member after refusing to settle its dispute with that Member (Covenant, Article 17, paragraph 3) . ”

“ The 'physical' sanctions are such pleasures and pains as follow a given course of conduct independently of the interference of any other human or supernatural being; the 'political' those which are annexed by the action of the legislator; the 'moral or popular' those which are annexed by other individuals not acting in a corporate capacity ”

“ It might even be dangerous if, from fear of failing in their duties, States made superfluous efforts. It will devolve upon the Council, which, under Article 13 can be put in possession of the necessary data, to give its opinion, should need occur, as to the best means of executing the obligations which arise directly it enjoins the application of sanctions, especially as to the sequence in which the sanctions must be applied. ”

“ If we examine the constitution and laws of the several states, it is immediately discovered that the law of nations is unprovided with sanctions in many cases which deeply affect public dignity and public justice. The letter, however, of the Confederation does not permit Congress to remedy these defects ”

“ There is something gained in them, but there’s something gone from them. The old sanctions, the old values won’t hold; are there any sanctions and values which can be made to hold? A kind of unreality must needs cling about their lives henceforth. ”

“ This law must be administered by human agents, who can employ none other than human means.—In the case of individuals it is the municipal law of their country, which gives the sanction of all their perfect obligations. This law is administered by magistrates only: but its sanctions, although declared by them alone, must be enforced when necessary, by the power of mere men. In the case of States, it is the public law of the civilized world which gives the sanction f the obligations of Nations. ”

“ I do not contend that we have never stretched in our favour the vague body of unwritten rules, based on conflicting precedents and unenforced by normal sanctions, which is called international law. Every belligerent in every war hitherto has done so ”

“ As previously discussed, the dictators' ability to threaten or apply sanctions—punishments against the restive, disobedient, and noncooperative sections of the population—is a central source of the power of dictators. ”

“ It does expect that your juridical action will put the forces of International Law, its precepts, its prohibitions and, most of all, its sanctions, on the side of peace, so that men and women of good will in all countries may have "leave to live by no man's leave, underneath the law." ”

“ The proper office of those sanctions is to enforce upon every one, the conduct necessary to give all other persons their fair chance: conduct which chiefly consists in not doing them harm, and not impeding them in anything which without harming others does good to themselves. ”

“ There are civil sanctions against the State and its political subdivisions, [3] and state officials may, apparently, be subjected to criminal penalties. [4] The impact is pervasive, striking at all levels of state government. ”

“ But there was likewise an increase in the penalties for substantive offenses. Yet under our interpretation the sanctions provided by § 11 are substantially the same as the sum of the various sanctions provided for the enforcement of the 1917 Act. ”

“ An Ordinance to provide for the imposition of sanctions against places outside the People’s Republic of China arising from Chapter 7 of the Charter of the United Nations, and to provide for matters incidental thereto or connected therewith. ”

“ When the Secretary of State, in accordance with the terms of section 2 of this order, has determined that a person meets any of the criteria described in section 2 and has selected any of the sanctions set forth below to impose on that person, the heads of relevant agencies, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall take the following actions where necessary to implement the sanctions imposed by the Secretary of State:
Sec. ”

“ But though, sir, the Pragmatick sanction were in danger of violation, are we to stand up alone in defence of it, while other nations, equally engaged with ourselves by interest and by treaties, sit still to look upon the contest, and gather those advantages of peace which we indiscreetly throw away? Are we able to maintain it without assistance, or are we to exhaust our country, and ruin our posterity in prosecution of a hopeless project, to spend what can never be repaid, and to fight with certainty of a defeat? ”

“ But the mere fact that force is their sanction does not ipso facto dispose of diplomatic and arbitrational methods. We all know that the force at the disposal of the Sovereign is the ultimate sanction of Law. ”

“ That sanction will be the declaration of Congress, that, as the intervention of a foreign power in the domestic affairs of any nation is a violation of the laws of nations, by the fact of such intervention your neutrality laws of 1818 are suspended in as far as the interfering or interference-claiming power is concerned. In other words, that the citizens of the United States are at liberty to follow their own inclination in respect to such a foreign power which violates the laws of nations. ”

“ But who is to judge where and when the power of the enemy has been so broken as that, with safety to the whole cause, the people and property once subject to hostile control may be released from the law of war, and restored to their rights under the Government? ”

“ Where a violation of neutral territory has taken place from ignorance of the boundary and not from evil intent, the neutral State shall immediately claim redress, compensation, and the adoption of measures necessary to prevent a similar mistake in future. ”

“ We now come to another important word—namely, does the Bible sanction? Sanction! By the term sanction we mean command, consequently the authority of positive, written, divine law, or whatever may be reasonably held as equivalent to such law. It follows, therefore, that toleration is not sanction. Sufferance is not sanction. Municipal legislation is not sanction. An historical statement of prevailing customs is not sanction. A faithful narrative of the life and example of eminent men is not sanction. The remission of penalty is not sanction. ”

“ To say that a capture which is out of the sanction and protection of the rights of war can nevertheless derive a validity from the rights of war, is surely a contradiction in terms. The rights of war can only taken place among enemies, and therefore a capture can give no right unless the property capture be the property of an enemy.'
5. The object of the war against rebellion as prosecuted by the government, and its policy repeatedly declared by the legislative and executive departments and followed by the judiciary, require the restoration of this property. ”

“ A compact is an agreement or binding obligation. It may, by its terms, have a sanction or penalty for its breach, or it may not. If it contains no sanction, it may be broken with no other consequence than moral guilt: if it have a sanction, then the breach insures the designated or implied penalty. A league between independent nations, generally, has no sanction other than a moral one; or if it should contain a penalty, as there is no common superior, it cannot be enforced. A government, on the contrary, always has a sanction, express or implied ”

“ Each of the contracting parties will replace the damage which has been caused in its own territory by the war, or which the States or populations have brought about by actions contrary to international law, or which has been caused by the consular officials of the other party either to life, liberty, health, or property. ”

“ If the ministers of the court have, by any inconstancy in their measures, or folly in their negotiations, given an opportunity to the enemies of Europe to extend their influence, or endangered either our own interest, or that of our allies; if they have by oppression or negligence alienated from his majesty the affections of his people, or the confidence of his confederates, nothing that is contained in the address now before us can be produced by them in justification of their conduct, or secure them from accusation, censure, and punishment. ”

“ A neutral may give some other compensation for the privilege of transporting enemy goods in safety, or both parties may find an interest in stipulating for this privilege, and neither may be disposed to make to, or require from, the other the surrender of any right as its consideration. What shall restrain independent nations from making such a compact? ”

“ In the absence of any central authority, the only sanction behind the code of rules established by custom or defined in treaties, known as “international law,” is the capacity of the powers to hold each other in check. ”

“ Justice Grier, in Prize Cases, 2 Black, 665, sub nom. Preciat v. United States, 17 L. ed. 476: 'Neutrals have a right to challenge the existence of a blockade de facto, and also the authority of the party exercising the right to institute it. They have a right to enter the ports of a friendly nation for the purposes of trade and commerce, but are bound to recognize the rights of a belligerent, engaged in actual war, to use this mode of coercion, for the purpose of subduing the enemy. ”

“ These jurisdictions are applicable, not only to war with foreign nations, but to a rebellion, when a part of a country wages war against its legitimate government, seeking to throw off all allegiance to it, to set up a government of its own. ”

“ They are also (for the first time) warned that, if any of them "shall presume, in contempt of this our Royal Proclamation, and of our high displeasure, to do any acts in derogation of their duty as subjects of a neutral Sovereign, ... or in violation of the law of nations, ... as, more especially," by breach of blockade, or carriage of contraband, &c., they will "rightfully incur, and be justly liable to, hostile capture, and to the penalties denounced by the law of nations in that behalf" ”