Publication 4

Forthcoming: March 2026

450 pp.

ISBN HB: 978-90-834075-6-2

ISBN e-book: 978-90-834075-7-9

International Law and the High Court of Australia

Christopher Ward

The place of public international law in domestic legal systems has been the cause of significant uncertainty for over 100 years. As the body of international law has substantially expanded, domestic courts throughout the world have faced increasing numbers of cases that raise questions of international law. Superior courts have sometimes struggled to locate the role of international law as a part of, or a guide to, domestic law.

This comprehensive work examines for the first time the decisions of the High Court of Australia since 1903 that deal with matters of public international law. It traces the development of the Court’s approach from initial uncertainty to a modern, more coherent, understanding of the place and relevance of international law in a dualist system which also recognises the role played by all superior courts to ensure that international law does not suffer from fragmentation by individualised interpretation.

The cases considered cover a wide range of subjects, including constitutional foundations, the limits of territory, human rights and the rights of indigenous peoples, commercial and trade law, criminal and international criminal law, citizenship and the protection of refugees and the immunities of foreign States. The result is a detailed picture of the role of international law as an essential component of modern domestic legal analysis.

Christopher Ward is a Senior Counsel of the New South Wales Bar, Australia at 6 St James Hall Chambers, and an Associate Member of 3 Verulam Buildings Barristers in London. He is Vice-Chair of the International Law Association and an Honorary Professor of the Australian National University in Canberra. He has an extensive practice in public international law acting for governments, international organisations, listed corporations and individuals in fields including boundary disputes, investor-State disputes, aviation, the law of the sea and human rights. He is the author of numerous scholarly articles and publications in the field and holds a BSc and LLB from the University of Sydney, an LLM from the University of Cambridge, and a PhD from the Australian National University.