Overview
- Russia’s High Court challenge centers on the constitutionality of a 2023 law voiding its 99-year lease on a prime Canberra site and its entitlement to just terms compensation.
- Solicitor-General Stephen Donaghue argued that Australia need not compensate a foreign state for a lease it lost due to problems it caused itself and stressed parliament’s power to legislate for its own security.
- Senior counsel Bret Walker SC told the court that confiscating land on pre-emptive national security grounds without compensation would breach constitutional property rights.
- Five Russian officials, including ambassador-at-large Sergey Makarov, attended the hearing but declined to comment as the vacant site remains unusable until the court hands down its decision.
- International law experts warn the outcome could set a precedent for how Australia balances national security concerns and constitutional compensation requirements for diplomatic land leases.