Developments in International Law: Self-Defence Against Imminent Armed Attack

The TC Beirne School of Law is pleased to welcome the Attorney-General for Australia, Senator the Honourable George Brandis QC, to The University of Queensland on Tuesday, 11 April to deliver a public lecture on “Developments in International Law: Self-Defence Against Imminent Armed Attack”.

The Attorney-General will address the question of imminence in the orthodox international law of self-defence. What does an ‘imminent’ threat mean when terror cells lie dormant planning an attack in one country, which will be remotely triggered from another? How does a government decide when a violent intent expressed by a terrorist organisation online has crossed from mere aspiration to ‘imminent’ threat? Crucially, how do we guarantee security in a modern threat environment, whilst ensuring that legitimate constraints on the use of force are not undermined?