The European Court of Justice Allows Third Countries to Challenge EU Restrictive Measures

In Venezuela v Council (Venezuela), the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union made a pronouncement on a procedural point: it held that Venezuela had locus standi to challenge restrictive measures adopted by the European Union (EU). This conclusion was based on the finding that a third country is a legal person for the purposes of the fourth paragraph of Article 263 TFEU.1 The judgment contributes to defining the autonomous EU constitutional space with regard to international law. In the light of the reasoning to justify such a decision, and of its likely consequences, this ruling is an expression of constitutional maturity: it sends the signal that the EU is confident in the robustness of its legal order to the extent that it is not afraid to permit challenges to its measures