An Australian appellate court has rejected Indigenous activist Robbie Thorpe's landmark bid to prosecute King Charles III for alleged genocide. The 68-year-old Krautatungalung elder argues that the British monarch and Australian institutions perpetuate systemic disadvantages against Indigenous people, who make up four percent of the population. While the monarch holds broad common law and statutory immunity in Australia, Thorpe plans to take his case to the International Criminal Court.
Domestic legal history of the lawsuit
- ▪The Court of Appeal ruled Robbie Thorpe's application had no real prospect of success because the charges did not disclose an offence known to the law of Victoria.
- ▪Robbie Thorpe's legal campaign against King Charles III began in 2023 when he first sought to launch a private prosecution through Melbourne Magistrates' Court.
- ▪Robbie Thorpe's legal filing was initially rejected by a Magistrates' Court registrar for failing to reference any proper source of law, which was later upheld by the Supreme Court.
- ▪Victoria's Court of Appeal rejected Robbie Thorpe's application to appeal a decision blocking his private prosecution of King Charles III on September 28, 2026.
Sovereign immunity of the British monarch
- ▪The British monarch is entitled to sovereign immunity under customary international law and Australian statutes including the Foreign States Immunities Act 1985.
- ▪The British monarch is immune from all criminal and civil liability in the United Kingdom, a common law immunity that has likely been inherited by Australia.
Proposed international legal actions
- ▪Robbie Thorpe suggested that Türkiye might be the country to take the genocide charges against King Charles III to an international court.
- ▪Robbie Thorpe stated he would take his allegations against King Charles III to the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands after exhausting domestic legal options.
- ▪While the International Criminal Court does not recognize head of state immunity, Australian National University international lawyer Don Rothwell stated individuals cannot commence prosecutions there but can only provide evidence to the prosecutor.
Debatable claims
- ▪The systemic socioeconomic disadvantage of Indigenous Australians constitutes ongoing genocide
- ▪Australia should strip the British monarch of legal immunity
- ▪Australian courts are inherently incapable of impartially judging colonial grievances
- ▪The British monarch bears responsibility for the ongoing disadvantages faced by Indigenous Australians
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