AN EXAMPLE OF SANCTIONS IN INTERNATIONAL LAW: RETORSION

The application of sanctions in international law is not systematically regulated as in national law. It is observed that states, as primary actors in the international community, resort to coercive measures against other states that violate their rights or harm their interests. These coercive measures can be viewed as sanctions specific to international law and generally classified as diplomatic, legal, economic and military sanctions. The primary aim of these sanctions is, above all, to ensure compliance with international law and to mitigate the negative impacts of actions that harm rights and interests. In international law, retorsion emerges as a type of sanction in state practice. In the narrow sense, retorsion refers to a state's response to actions by another state that, while not unlawful, are contrary to its interests, using means that are not prohibited by international law. According to this definition, the actions of both the initial state and the responding state will be lawful. The criterion of legality distinguishes retorsion from another coercive measure, reprisal (retaliation). However, there is no obstacle to using retorsion against actions that are contrary to international law. As a countermeasure, retorsion must always be in accordance with international law. Therefore, retorsion should only affect the interests of the targeted state, not rights protected by international law. Considering that the use and threat of force are prohibited under contemporary positive international law, retorsion should not include these actions. Since retorsion is a lawful act, it is not required to be proportionate to the initial action. In retorsion, it is not necessary for the initial action and the retaliatory action to be equivalent or for the same methods and tools to be used. Examples of retorsion frequently used in state practice include banning the citizens of the targeted state from entering the country or subjecting them to strict conditions, cutting off commercial relations, prohibiting the import of certain goods, and declaring diplomatic representative persona non grata. This study aims to reveal the impact of retorsions, frequently used in state practice, within the unique structure of the international community through case studies.