Blockade in International Law : a historical analysis

Abstract

A blockade may be broadly defined as a naval operation conducted by a country at war, with the object of closing to foreign commerce the vital ports of an enemy country, and thereby aiding in the military defeat of that country by denying it access to supplies and communications from without. This naval operation must perforce consist in the interception by sea of the approaches to the coast or ports of an enemy with the purpose of cutting him off from his overseas communications, with the goal here consisting of preventing exports as well as imports. Oppenheim adopts a more broad definition by including the ingress or egress of aircraft of all nations.