4 Feb 2026
Mark Carney is wrong about the rules-based order
Declaring the system a fiction ignores real achievements and only makes it easier for big powers to demand their way.
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3 Feb 2026
The Rohingya case could redefine genocide and that matters for ASEAN
A ruling that sexual violence constitutes genocide would expose weaknesses in ASEAN's human rights framework -
30 Jan 2026
Why Vietnam’s retirement age laws fail women and hold back the state
Compelling women to leave the workforce earlier than men undermines equality and weakens the country's public sector. -
29 Jan 2026
Tokyo court finds North Korea’s “Paradise on Earth” survivors were misled
The ruling on mass repatriation of Koreans from Japan between 1959 and 1984 will have wide implications for Japan-North Korea relations. -
22 Jan 2026
The truth about Arctic "strategic competition"
The region is far less important, and less contested, than commonly claimed. -
12 Jan 2026
Maduro and murky legality of "irregular" extradition
Does bringing a defendant before a court by irregular means bar prosecution? -
9 Jan 2026
Maritime boardings and international law: The Venezuela context
Many recent US boardings of vessels linked to Venezuela are legal under UNCLOS. -
8 Jan 2026
When the strong act, the rules bend: Venezuela and world order
The strike on Venezuela has sparked debate about sovereignty and legality. But the episode reveals a deeper truth about the enduring explanatory power of foreign-policy realism. -
26 Nov 2025
Australia’s “deep concern” at multilayered persecution of Afghanistan’s Hazaras
A parliamentary motion highlights systematic violence against a community facing ethnic, religious and gender-based repression. -
4 Nov 2025
Repairing warships, maintaining neutrality: Indonesia’s legal balancing act
A deal to repair US warships has sparked debate over Jakarta’s foreign policy tradition – but international law offers clear guidance. -
30 Oct 2025
Sunken ships, rising risks: Pacific shipwrecks and maritime security
Securing the region goes well beyond military bases and undersea surveillance. -
24 Oct 2025
Critical minerals: The US bid to bypass international rules on deep sea mining
Unilateral mining permits to bypass established multilateral frameworks may be more costly to the world as a whole. -
16 Oct 2025
The legal reform needed to match Australia’s global humanitarian promises
Humanitarian workers face danger abroad – and legal uncertainty at home under Australia’s current laws. -
14 Oct 2025
Outsourcing war: Holding Russia and its African partners accountable for Wagner’s crimes
International law provides clear pathways to attribute Wagner and Africa Corps atrocities to both Russia and the states that hire them. -
13 Oct 2025
Australia’s role in bringing international criminals to justice
Stepping up efforts to investigate and prosecute perpetrators on Australian soil will build credibility at home and abroad. -
10 Oct 2025
Australia’s quiet returnees from Syria are in fact a loud warning
Leaving detainees stranded in Syria doesn’t reduce risk – it can export the very insecurity governments hope to prevent. -
7 Oct 2025
The return of landmines marks a darker era for Europe – and the world
Countries withdrawing from the ban treaty shows how Russian hostility is forcing choices that undermine global norms. -
3 Oct 2025
When democracies override their own courts: Australia’s dangerous precedent
Parliamentary overrides in migration law offer authoritarian regimes a playbook for eroding judicial independence. -
2 Oct 2025
Applying a national security lens to the International Court’s climate change opinion
When islands sink, do nations disappear? The Court says no. -
24 Sep 2025
The real battle for the Moon’s resources is here on Earth
Pre-market contracts could decide lunar governance before mining starts and usher in a new age of “resource colonialism”. -
19 Aug 2025
A nuclear reactor on the Moon will be a turning point
Competing visions for lunar governance are dividing Washington and Beijing as nuclear technology enables permanent space-based mining and manufacturing operations. -
8 Aug 2025
The world court tightens the tap on fossil fuels
Climate cases against major polluters might become more successful after the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice. -
8 Aug 2025
On Sudan: America and China take very different tacks
A civil war in the African republic reveals the limits of moral authority in a world of competing strategic interests. -
7 Aug 2025
Cambodia takes control of its war crimes legacy
The transformation of a hybrid court into a domestic institution offers lessons for localising international justice. -
10 Jul 2025
Srebrenica at 30: Why this turning point for international justice still matters
The 1995 massacre galvanised legal accountability mechanisms that remain vital as multilateral institutions face new challenges. -
7 Jul 2025
The protection paradox: How refugee law fails those fleeing failed states
Legal definitions rooted in 1951 miss today’s reality – many people flee state collapse, not specific persecutors. -
4 Jul 2025
The Indus Treaty verdict: When water outlasts war
A Hague ruling against India’s treaty “abeyance” might stop a precedent that could spread from China to Bangladesh. -
18 Jun 2025
Why DEI won't DIE: 80 years of protecting rights and fighting for equality
The protection of human rights and principles of equality are fundamental to international law and can’t be dismantled overnight by one state alone. -
10 Jun 2025
What lies beneath: Trump and the security of subsea cables
To access the riches under the sea, the new US administration seeks dominance. -
30 May 2025
Nuclear threats in space demand new diplomacy
Technical and communication measures are needed to prevent an arms race in Earth’s orbit. -
28 May 2025
Sadly, Russia’s mercenary verdict means Oscar Jenkins won't be coming home anytime soon
The Australian fighter's 13-year sentence in occupied Ukraine eliminates prisoner exchange hopes and leaves Canberra few options under law. -
23 May 2025
Israeli embassy staff killings expose the limits of diplomatic protection
Transnational dangers are amplified by extremist ideologies online. -
28 Mar 2025
India’s support for Chagos sovereignty speaks volumes
New Delhi’s backing of Mauritius on Chagos is a calculated geopolitical move within a shifting Indo-Pacific order. -
26 Mar 2025
From ICC to Indo-Pacific: The Philippines’ strategic bargaining against superpower rivalries
A case study in how to reduce dependence on America as well as actively promote a rules-based order. -
14 Mar 2025
Duterte’s ICC arrest: A day of reckoning
Duterte’s legal battle puts the spotlight on the International Criminal Court and the future of Philippine politics. -
14 Mar 2025
Sunk costs: Pacific shipwrecks and the urgent call for the Nairobi Convention
An international accord to clean up shipwrecks and other waste from commerce on the high seas already exists. The region should get on board. -
11 Mar 2025
Protecting frontline humanitarians: Australia’s role as a middle power
Coming off the deadliest year on record for aid workers, Australia is well positioned to drive diplomatic change. -
7 Mar 2025
The realists and their limits in the world today
A belief in “might is right” is not set in stone – rules in global affairs are shaped by the choices we make. -
4 Mar 2025
China’ Australia flotilla: The live-fire loophole in the law of the sea
With countries each following their own procedures, a diplomatic initiative would be to work towards international agreement on the minimum notice required for live-fire exercises. -
10 Feb 2025
The world court decision that might decide the future of our planet
The International Court of Justice has been asked to clarify responsibility for meaningful efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. -
29 Jan 2025
POW law and the plight of Australian Oscar Jenkins in Russia
The intentional killing of prisoners of war is a war crime that can be prosecuted under Australian law. -
28 Jan 2025
Abandoning the rules-based order is no solution
Competing narratives about the international order are being weaponised in an age of renewed territorial ambitions. -
23 Jan 2025
What does the Trump presidency mean for Women, Peace and Security?
International peace and security requires due consideration of the world’s women. This is no radical social theory. -
14 Jan 2025
The legal options for Trump to acquire Greenland
A Compact of Free Association akin to arrangements in the Pacific could be one answer, if Greenlanders agree. -
16 Dec 2024
Southeast Asia’s death penalty laws: The ultimate political game
The region’s diverse policies on executions are about more than the war on crime. -
4 Dec 2024
Australia’s chance to align global efforts against “hostage diplomacy”
A new senate report has set out sensible recommendations for a fresh approach on wrongful detention of Australians overseas. -
13 Nov 2024
The declining fortunes of Afghanistan’s women
Is the International Court of Justice a toothless tiger, or can a new legal battle truly turn the tide for women and girls? -
8 Oct 2024
The UK deal on Diego Garcia is positive, but it won’t reverse declining support for the rules-based order
China and Russia might argue this is just another example of Western countries gaming the system to suit themselves. -
2 Oct 2024
What lies beneath: There’s more to cables than geopolitics
The undersea cable industry is left to tackle the challenges, while policymakers engage in national security power plays. -
10 Sep 2024
A first step on the long road to global AI regulation
It didn’t make headlines but the US and EU came together last week to sign an important treaty – leaving partners such as Australia with a choice.