Giving approval or encouragement to an action usually by custom or tradition or disapproval or penalty for disobeying a formal or informal law.
Sanctions usually instituted by governments, instil in their members of society an awareness of the need to observe legal precepts, induce the members to maintain certain conduct, and protect law and order, thereby providing for the proper development of social relations. In international law, sanctions are measures applied against a state if it violates international obligations or the standards of international law.
Criminal law sanctions include deprivation of freedom, exile, banishment or corrective labour. Disciplinary sanctions include reproofs and reprimands, demotion and dismissal. Property sanctions include the compensation by a law-breaker of the loss caused to another party or the confiscation of property in favor of the injured party. International sanctions include UN Security Council introduction of military force in the event of threat to peace or suspension of rights and privileges of UN members.
Sanctions protect law and order by instilling in members of society an awareness of the need to observe legal precepts and stay within the limits of a defined legal norm.
There is a symbolic benefit of sanctions. They have an effect on the international standing of target countries, they demonstrate support for local human rights victims and activists, and they are important in calling attention to abuses. These are benefits that may considerably outweigh their actual economic consequences.
Effective sanctions develop out of the will of the people and cannot be legislated.