International Law

The United States says the United Nation's top court should not order the unconditional withdrawal of Israeli forces from Palestinian territories as it considers a request for its opinion on the legality of the occupation.

A London court hears people living under authoritarian regimes "disappeared" after Julian Assange blended hacking with reporting, "stole vast amounts" of classified documents and published them on his WikiLeaks website.

Space is often described as the Wild West, but this is changing with commercial operators now charging people to send human ashes of loved ones to the Moon. But there are ethical implications around whether this should be allowed.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in an Arctic penal colony is an "appalling atrocity" and Vladimir Putin is to blame.

When Adila Hassim represented South Africa in its ICJ case against Israel, she was struck by the overwhelming sense that the courtroom is not a place for women. She's one of many prominent voices now calling for change in the world's highest court.

After the Taliban outlawed opium production in Afghanistan, war-torn Myanmar became the world's main supplier. But former poppy farmers in Shan state say they have a solution for getting out of the drug industry.

A rebel group in Indonesia's eastern region of Papua orders its armed faction deep in the jungle to release a New Zealand pilot held hostage for the past year.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton urges Chinese President Xi Jinping to reconsider the suspended death sentence handed to Australian man Yang Hengjun as the government and opposition move in lock step.

Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan says he "did not catch a glimpse" of his wife's face until they were married. Now they have received a seven-year jail term for an unlawful marriage.

Biden's executive order authorising sanctions on four violent Israeli settler leaders will probably be meaningless. Settlers know they have virtual immunity for such actions, writes John Lyons.

As US troops are killed in a drone strike on a military base in Jordan, Israeli citizens block humanitarian aid from entering Gaza.

A Hong Kong court has ordered one of China's biggest property developers, Evergrande Group, to liquidate, which could have severe consequences not just for China, but other economies including Australia. 

Human rights groups are urging the federal government to take "concrete" steps to help prevent the genocide of Palestinians after the International Court of Justice's ruling that South Africa's allegation against Israel is "plausible".

Israel's military actions in Gaza are acts of self-defence against Hamas and "other terrorist organisations", the legal advisor for Israel's foreign ministry says at the opening of the second day of hearings at the World Court.

Plans to execute a convicted murderer by asphyxiating him with nitrogen may amount to "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment" or even torture, experts say.

A court in Bangladesh has sentenced Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to six months in prison for labour law violations for what he says is a crime he did not commit.

Israel's Supreme Court has struck down a highly disputed law passed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government that rolled back some of the high court's power and sparked months of nationwide protests.

The UN is investigating whether the "rules of war" have been broken by Israel and Hamas. But what qualifies as a war crime? 

Israel denies using white phosphorus munitions illegally, but the US says it will be seeking more information after fresh reports emerged linking its use to an attack that injured at least nine civilians. This is what we know.

Navalny aides have been preparing for his expected transfer to a "special regime" colony, the harshest grade in Russia's prison system, after he was sentenced in August to an additional 19 years in prison.

The strategy will involve raising minimum English language requirements and a crackdown on 'visa hopping'.

It is now armed with powers to ask a court to lock up some of the almost 150 people freed from immigration detention.

The wife of a former US Marine pilot facing extradition to America says the court ruling makes it "near impossible" to fight for her husband's freedom.

Adam Bandt says the Government and Opposition are proposing laws which punish people for crimes they haven't committed yet.

Ukraine launches an inquiry into the alleged execution of two soldiers at the hands of their Russian counterparts.