https://www.scmp.com/rss/515990/feed Donald Rothwell is a professor of international law at Australian National University. His research has a specific focus on law of the sea, international polar law, and implementation of international law within Australia. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Donald Rothwell Donald Rothwell The Iranian diaspora has been celebrating and governments around the world have generally not mourned the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in last weekend’s US and Israeli air strikes on Iran. While there has been much political justification for these attacks from Washington and Israel, neither has sought to legally justify their conduct. No real effort has been made to reference the acknowledged right of self-defence, most likely because the evidence did not exist. In other words, there was no... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3345741/australia-needs-make-its-stance-iran-attacks-known?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3345741/australia-needs-make-its-stance-iran-attacks-known?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Mar 2026 04:00:08 +0000 For the first time, Australians have been referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for investigation into alleged Afghan war crimes. That Senator Jacqui Lambie has instigated this process is even more extraordinary as it’s the first time any Australian MP has taken that step. Lambie’s ICC referral focuses on the legal responsibility of Australian Defence Force (ADF) commanders who knew, or should have known, about alleged war crimes committed by their forces in Afghanistan. This move... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3225055/why-international-criminal-court-unlikely-prosecute-alleged-australian-war-crimes-afghanistan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3225055/why-international-criminal-court-unlikely-prosecute-alleged-australian-war-crimes-afghanistan?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Jun 2023 18:00:12 +0000