You are a legal advisor in an Australian government department. The Minister heading the department is concerned because a foreign representative recently told the Minister at an international gathering of foreign officials that even if Australia did not become a party to a treaty currently being negotiated, Australia might nonetheless be bound by rules enshrined in the treaty. The Minister tells you that they have a vague recollection of studying the Law of Treaties at university and that there was a treaty on treaties that Australia was a party to. The Minister recalls that this treaty on treaties provided that "a treaty does not create either obligations or rights for a third State without its consent".

The Minister asks for a detailed explanation of how, if at all, Australia might be bound under international law by a rule set out in a treaty to which Australia is not a party, and how Australia might avoid being bound by such an international legal obligation. The Minister also has a vague recollection of things called jus cogens and erga omnes obligations and asks whether these might be relevant. ALSO LIST RELEVANT CASE LAW.