George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

In this particular case, where we are concerned with cross-border activity, there are four conditions. First, the requesting state must have been subjected to or imminently at risk of armed attacks from elements beyond its borders; second, there must be no effective means reasonably available to address those attacks or imminent threats other than the use of force; third, the host state, in this case Syria, must have demonstrated that it is either unwilling or unable to restrain the attacks originating from within its borders; and, finally, the state under attack, in this case Iraq, must have requested the assistance of other states to defend itself. In this particular case, all four of the requirements of public international law are plainly satisfied.