[1] In recent years, most attention has focused on the use of the power to pass legislation giving effect within Australia to its obligations under international treaties and conventions.
According to Constitutional law academic Michael Coper, it is "not entirely clear what the founding fathers intended" by conferring upon the Commonwealth Parliament the right to legislate with respect to "external affairs".
The draft Constitution adopted by the 1891 Sydney Convention allowed the Parliament to make laws with respect to "External affairs and Treaties".
[3] In 1901, Robert Garran and John Quick suggested that the external affairs power would "prove to be a great constitutional battle-ground.
Initial approaches produced an unqualified view that Parliament could legislate to give effect to any obligation or even non-binding recommendation contained in an international treaty once ratified.