rule of law | ANZSIL Perspective

International Law as Process: Reflections on the Roberts-Smith Arrest

by Dr Emily Camins | 14 Apr 2026

At a time when international law is under considerable strain, this piece contextualises the arrest of Ben Roberts-Smith as an instance of international law working quietly through institutions and processes. Drawing on Rosalyn Higgins’ conception of international law as process, it argues that the arrest demonstrates the continuing normative force of IHL – and of international law generally – for victims/survivors of conflict and more broadly.

The ICC Arrest Warrants for the Leaders of Israel and Hamas – Current Status and Key Points from Israel’s Challenges

by Jack Holmes | 19 Dec 2024

Issuance of arrest warrants On 21 November 2024, after six months of deliberations, the International Criminal Court Pre-Trial Chamber 1 (‘PTC’) unanimously issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the former Israeli Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant. The warrants were issued under article 58 of the Rome Statute, following the Court’s opening of its criminal investigation into the Situation in the State of Palestine on 3 March 2021. The ICC Prosecutor also sought arrest warrants for three Hamas leaders. The applications named the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, the political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh; both of whom have been killed in...

Australia, New Zealand, and Operation Poseidon Archer: Some International Law Questions

by Ashley (Ash) Stanley Ryan | 11 Apr 2024

On 12 January 2024, the United States and its coalition partners launched a series of strikes against Houthi (Ansarallah) positions in Yemen, as part of “Operation Poseidon Archer”. Those strikes were justified as acts of individual and collective self-defence, in response to attacks by Ansarallah against civilian and naval vessels in the Red Sea. Australia provided support for these strikes; on 24 January 2024, New Zealand announced that it, too, would provide support for future strikes against Ansarallah. In this piece, I analyse whether New Zealand and Australia have become parties to a non-international armed conflict (NIAC); the legal basis underlying the use of force; and what the...

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon

by Hon Sir David Baragwanath KC | 22 Jun 2023

A perspective from the Special Tribunal for Lebanon is to ensure the rule of law is subordinate to no-one, and nothing. It met a number of attempts to the contrary. Lebanon, with a population of nearly seven million, is the coastal state demarking the eastern end of the Mediterranean. Its jurist Ulpian wrote 42% of Justinian’s Digest of the Roman Law, a foundation of much of the Romano-Germanic, Napoleonic and English common law recently described by Philip Wood CBE Hon KC in PRIMEtime Recording English Law as an Asset as Europe’s greatest contribution to civilisation. 1. The factual issues I begin with the facts. Rafiq Hariri had resigned his office as Prime Minister of Lebanon to secure...

Trust in Translation: Diplomatic Assurances, the New Zealand Supreme Court, and Extradition to China

by Neil Boister | 8 Jun 2022

In 1606 in the République, Jean Bodin argued that it was wrong to render up the guiltless to a sovereign who wished to punish them, but right to render up the guilty. Today guilt alone is insufficient for extradition. The 1989 judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in Soering v UK set a precedent which forced the courts in States committed to human rights to enquire into the potential for a human rights breach in a State requesting extradition. The various human rights covenants generate a clear obligation of non-refoulement where potential breach of human rights obligations may occur. Subsequent domestic legislation and judicial decisions has, however, eroded that obligation of...