Sanctions Litigation before the European Union’s Court of Justice

Existing scholarship has extensively examined the judicial review of European Union (EU) restrictive measures – most commonly referred to as sanctions – highlighting the key role of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in assessing their legality. Far less attention, however, has been paid to the motivations of litigants before the CJEU. Drawing on the literature on legal mobilisation and insights from interviews conducted with sanctions lawyers, this analysis reveals a diverse set of factors shaping decisions to initiate – or refrain from initiating – litigation. These factors include the availability of economic resources, the material and reputational harm caused by sanctions, political and personal considerations, and the strategic value of litigation as a signalling device. Understanding these motivations offers a novel perspective on the relationship between judicial review, access to legal remedies and the development of EU foreign policy.