International law

Scholar, advocate, judge: James Crawford 1948–2021
Scholar, advocate, judge: James Crawford 1948–2021
James Crawford, who passed away on Monday, was the most influential Australian international lawyer of all time. Many of us in the field hope for some measure of success as…
Why did Australia sign the Moon Treaty?
Why did Australia sign the Moon Treaty?
International space law has again become a theatre of geopolitical competition. Unlike the bipolar space race of the Cold War era, a proliferating cast of countries and…
Economic diplomacy: Patent politics and trade deal twists
Economic diplomacy: Patent politics and trade deal twists
Biden’s jab First it was new carbon emission cuts, and then a global minimum corporate tax. But it is hard to beat the Biden administration’s move to shaft the pharmaceutical…
The Davis aerodrome and Australia’s leadership in the Antarctic
The Davis aerodrome and Australia’s leadership in the Antarctic
Since the Davis aerodrome project in Antarctica was proposed in 2018 by the Australian government, there have been continuing debates about the potential environmental costs,…
High hopes and hot air on climate change
High hopes and hot air on climate change
Amid a very bad week for news about Covid-19, there was a long-awaited ray of hope about climate. Within an hour of US President Joe Biden’s opening to the Virtual Leaders’…
Toxic reaction to Japan’s Fukushima water dump
Toxic reaction to Japan’s Fukushima water dump
The Netflix documentary “Seaspiracy” caused a stir following its release last month, both for highlighting the serious damage human activities are causing the world’s oceans –…
“America’s back” in the Paris Agreement. For how long?
“America’s back” in the Paris Agreement. For how long?
On his first day in office, President Joe Biden signed an executive order for the US to rejoin the Paris Agreement. A new US Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), containing…
When will PNG establish a National Human Rights Commission?
When will PNG establish a National Human Rights Commission?
Corruption is one of the biggest challenges in Papua New Guinea, according to Transparency International PNG. In 2020, the government successfully established the Independent…
How far would Australia go in defence of the rules-based order?
How far would Australia go in defence of the rules-based order?
Last month, I alerted Interpreter readers to a new Lowy Institute debate feature on America and the Rules-based Order. In my comments about the debate, I said that Australia faced…
Antarctica: Working a rules-based system
Antarctica: Working a rules-based system
Panic about China in Antarctica or shoehorning the continent into US-China geostrategic competition risks creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. Australia’s interest in a peaceful…