The shameful suggestions that war crimes were committed by Australian soldiers, led by a highly decorated individual against whom accusations of war crimes have been confirmed to a civil standard of proof in the Federal Court of Australia, have brought dishonour to the Australian Defence Force and to the nation.

Considering an appeal by the highly decorated individual against the Federal Court justice’s decision, the full Federal Court has now determined that he was not defamed when these accusations were published. In a judgement that is as clinical as it is definitive, the justices repeatedly determined that there was no reason to doubt the primary judge’s conclusions.

It is now imperative that the ADF address the systemic deficiencies in command to ensure that never again do Australian soldiers find themselves accused of war crimes. In this report, Allan Behm outlines the complexities of command and a new way of approaching culpability.