Szabina Horvath joined the Directorate of Operations and International Law at the Department of Defence in 2009. Szabina has provided advice on detainee management issues, maritime operations, domestic implementation of international legal obligations, gender issues, interrogation doctrine, and a range of other international humanitarian law issues, as well as human rights matters relevant to military operations. Szabina is currently seconded to the Australian Submarine Agency.

Szabina’s research examined Australia’s extraterritorial human rights obligations. Specifically, the research considered Australia’s human rights obligations when engaged in extraterritorial armed conflict, with reference to other extraterritorial situations which may enliven Australia’s human rights obligations. Szabina’s thesis includes a decision-making framework for determining when Australia may owe specific human rights obligations.

Supervisor: Professor Rob McLaughlin

Publications

• Horvath S and Mackenzie-Gray Scott R (29-30 January 2018), 'Workshop on Intelligence Sharing in Multinational Military Operations' [conference report], Workshop on Intelligence Sharing in Multinational Military Operations, School of Law, University of Nottingham.
• Horavath S (2018) 'The Law of Armed Conflict and the Use of Force: the Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law', Review of The Law of Armed Conflict and the Use of Force: the Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law by F Lachenmann and R Wolfrum (eds), in Rothwell D, Zagor M and Saunder I (eds)The Australian Year Book of International Law, Brill, Leiden.
• Horvath S (9 January 2021) 'Disinformation in international forums: the civil society loophole', ILA Reporter, accessed 6 March 2024, https://ilareporter.org.au/2021/01/disinformation-in-international-forums-the-civil-society-loophole-szabina-horvath/
• Horvath S (2023) Australia's extraterritorial human rights obligations [PhD Thesis], The Australian National University, Canberra.