BCL partner John Binns’ article on the UK’s Magnitsky provisions has been published by the Law Society Gazette.

Here’s an extract from his article:

“One of the many debates prompted by the UK’s decision to leave the EU is its future policy on targeted sanctions. Traditionally a tool of foreign policy aimed at changing the behaviour of foreign regimes, sanctions have increasingly been used to signal disapproval and to disrupt the activities of targeted individuals and corporate entities. As an EU member, the UK has used this tool to impose asset freezes, travel bans and other restrictions on various targets, primarily to enforce EU decisions and regulations. How, will, and should this change in future?

For many of those who make and influence policy in this area, a large part of the answer to this question is inspired by the death of the Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky (pictured below) and the US law to which it led: the Global Magnitsky Act, which targets those believed responsible for human rights violations or significant corruption. UK parliamentarians and others have pressed the government to introduce a similar law here, and have succeeded in doing so, though with decidedly mixed results.”

This article was published by The Law Society Gazette on 18th November. You can read the full version on their site.