Introduction

This paper asks the broadest possible question: What is the point of sanctions? As a commercial solicitor with decades of experience advising businesses on identifying and managing sanctions risk, I approach this as a practical, rather than theoretical question, and ask whether (and how) sanctions "work", viewed from the perspective of the commercial enterprises which are required to comply with sanctions, and whose actions give sanctions their effect. The reasons for this are straightforward: clearly if sanctions don't work, then they essentially have no point (or ...