I saw a dream

[tabanli]

Every sovereign country has the right to freeze foreign assets (not to seize them) belonging to foreign citizens (not international companies or foundations and trusts) inside his borders without international courts and arbitration. It has to be owned by foreign individuals. That what being sovereign is all about. You can go to international arbitration to release the assets.

About US position, US will not do a darn thing. They are both trying to save face and look tough just like KGB said. It is the movie Back to the Past VI, with the same plot but different leading actors. Just as usual the extras are suffering.

[Igor]

Is it necessary to have US court's decision for freezing assets, or the president doesn't need something else than his own will for making decision about other's property? How is with it in US?

[Igor]

Sad to see no answer. As I can suggest, any politician shouldn't be able to do something with other's property without court's decision within the country. If it is true, any freezing of property is unconstitutional.
Fortunately good that all this looks like political game between governments, which doesn't currently affect common people.

[KGB]

Igor,

Normally it requires the court to seize someones assets. However in times of emergency the President can over ride that and seize them immediately. And of course an emergency can be anything the President say it is

This power is meant for cases where the risk of flight is high and waiting for a court to say yes may mean the person/people have already removed their assets from the country.

Regardless of how your assets are seized (court or by presidential order) you can still appeal to the courts to over turn the seizure and have them returned to you.

KGB

P.S. If you look carefully at what Obama has seized you'll see it's 'nothing'. He seized the assets of 7 of Putins friends but nothing of Putins. Coincidentally (or not) those 7 friends happen to have no assets in the US. So the president can say he is being 'tough' on Russia while actually doing nothing. My understanding is the Russians are going to do the same (seize assets of a few Americans who happen to have no actual assets in Russia).

[tabanli]

I am not saying what Obama did was legal or ethical. But what I am saying is that just like a president of any other powerful country, he does whatever makes him look good. As KGB pointed this is a publicity stunt, they just want to look tough. US does a lot of questionable things when they feel it is emergency or matter of national security but nothing really dangerous.

[tabanli]

any politician shouldn't be able to do something with other's property without court's decision within the country. If it is true, any freezing of property is unconstitutional.

Obviously they shouldn't but they do it anyway and pretty much everywhere. I am not approving what is being done but I am stating the reality of the world.

There are a lot of bad things happening in Turkey, my home country. Prime minister is overwriting court orders, removing judges from key corruption cases and appointing favorable judges to guarantee not guilty verdict for ministers involved in corruption. He uses his executive branch and pretty much all the state power over judiciary. Surprising? Maybe but not really. I have much pessimistic look on this kind of things. We should raise voice and do what we can but I am saying don't be surprised. Similar things may happen after the election in Afghasnistan as well. Similar things may happen in a few years somewhere else. I look at the history of the world and pretty much nothings surprises me at this point.

[Igor]

I don't like when such things happens in the world. I can't agree with european politicians which support the trend of US government to change the world for US use. Too many wars are already opened. One war fortunately was stopped from US-France agression (Siria). Watching on TV how many people are dead in Iraq and Libia, knowing that Serbia was under bombing, I believe that everything can be.
I don't know what can stop US from agression all around the world. Hope this will be done by a good leader. Obama looks more peaceful than George Bush was.