International Law Relating to the Arms Trade: The Australian Defence and Strategic Goods Export Regime and Arms Trade with the Middle East

This chapter discusses and analyses the recent development of international arms trade between Australia and certain countries in the MENA region. Arm trade is regulated by a number of traditional areas of international law, such as international human rights and humanitarian law and particularly, the Arms Trade Treaty to which Australia is a party and most MENA countries are not. Australia has partially implemented international law in its legal system in regard to the export of weapons. The major legal instruments regulating the export of defence and strategic goods are Defence Trade Control Act 2012 (Cth) and Customs Act 1901 (Cth), and associated customs regulations. These instruments provide the international obligations be considered when assessing an export licence for defence and strategic goods. There are also international and domestic legal complications with respect to arms trade by Australia and other states and the MENA region, due to international obligations associated with armed conflict. Under the current Australian legal framework, it is difficult to assess whether international obligations are sufficiently considered

The Australian defence industry is an exporter of arms and military technology to certain countries. Recently, Australia has commenced exporting arms to some Arab countries in the Gulf. The export and import of arms and military technology are regulated by international law and Australian law.