Le sanzioni contro i talibani, Osama bin Laden e Al-Qaeda al vaglio del Tribunale di primo grado della Comunità europea per (presunta) violazione dei diritti fondamentali

This paper examines the implications of the judgments of the Court of First Instance concerning the Yusuf and Al Barakaat International Foundation and Kadi cases where, for the first time, the Court was confronted with the legality of a regulation that imposes restrictive measures against persons and groups (smart sanctions) involved in terrorist activities, such as the Taliban, Osama bin Laden and the Al-Qaida network. The judgments confirm the regulation and practice concerning smart sanctions, despite their human right implications. The first question raised by the Court concerned the competence of the Council to adopt regulations imposing sanctions on individuals who are not linked to a territory or a government of a third country, and the legal basis of this regulation. The second question, the most interesting, raised by the Court was whether it was entitled to assess the legitimacy of a regulation that imposes restrictive measures considering that the regulation is a transposition of resolutions of the UN Security Council.