Public event: ICC President, Hiroshima bomb survivor among speakers at “Nuclear Weapons and Rule of Law” international forum hosted by Law Society
9 December 2025
The Law Society of South Australia is hosting a public forum to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and examine the global cooperation and leadership required to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
To be held on International Human Rights Day (10 December), “Nuclear Weapons and the Rule of Law” brings together voices of survivors, international experts, and leading legal minds to reflect on the past, confront present challenges, and strengthen the global movement for accountability and justice in the face of nuclear weapons.
President of the International Criminal Court Judge Tomoko Akane, Hiroshima bomb survivor Keiko Ogura, international law practitioner and former LAWASIA President Isomi Suzuki, South Australian legal academic Jennifer McKay AM, and local human rights barrister Andrew Collett AM are among the speakers at this event.
Speakers will explore the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons, the legal challenges they pose, and the vital role of the rule of law in advancing accountability, justice, and a safer world. Through survivor testimony, legal analysis, and global perspectives, the event will shed light on the enduring legacy of nuclear weapons and the responsibility of the international community to address their impact.
This session is open to the public and accessible via Zoom or in-person at the Law Society of SA’s premises for South Australia-based guests.
Time: 2:30pm - 5pm (ACDT)
Date: 10 December
Register for the webinar: https://lawsocietysa.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kqRdN_cjQaGcXlkYrmENrA.
Password: 865332
Webinar ID: 896 1811 3111
The Human Rights Committee of the Law Society of South Australia has partnered with The Law Association for Asia and the Pacific (LAWASIA), the Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA). Friends of LAWASIA Japan (FLAJ), the Hiroshima Bar Association, and the Nagasaki Bar Association, to host this event.
Law Society President Marissa Mackie said: “It is more important than ever for nations to advance nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament measures”.
“With major conflicts raging around the world, tensions rising between nuclear-armed states, nations threatening to resume nuclear testing, and recent military attacks on nuclear sites, the threat of nuclear devastation remains real.”
“The catastrophic and long-lasting impact of the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki serve as a potent reminder of the existential threat of nuclear weapons and the need for constant vigilance and international pressure to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons.”
Chair of the Law Society’s Human Rights Committee, Raffaele Piccolo, said: “While 80 years has passed since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the impact will continue to last more than a lifetime. The devasting effects of those bombings continues to affect survivors, their families and their communities. Globally, the continued existence of nuclear weapons means that the threat of nuclear weapons remains ever real.
“Closer to home, Australia has not been immune from the impact of nuclear weapons. One only has to look to Maralinga and the British nuclear tests to consider the lasting and devasting impact on South Australia’s Indigenous communities.”
“The Human Rights Committee of the Law Society is proud to cooperate with LAWASIA, and the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, Friends of LAWASIA Japan, the Hiroshima Bar Association, and the Nagasaki Bar Association, to host this seminar. The diverse and international range of speakers, supporting organisations, and seminar attendees, is a testament to the continuing importance of this issue to South Australia, Australia, the Asia-Pacific, and the World.”
About the speakers
Judge Tomoko Akane has served as a Judge of the International Criminal Court since 11 March 2018 and was elected President of the Court on 11 March 2024. Before her appointment to the ICC, she held senior roles including Ambassador for International Judicial Cooperation and Public Prosecutor at the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office of Japan. Since her appointment as a Public Prosecutor in 1982, she has worked across various levels of Japan’s prosecutorial system, handling a wide range of criminal cases and contributing to legislative reforms such as the revision of the Juvenile Act.
Judge Akane has also been deeply involved in international legal cooperation through her work with the UNAFEI and Japan’s Research and Training Institute, where she led capacity-building initiatives for legal professionals globally. In addition, she held academic positions as Professor of Criminal Justice Practice at Nagoya University Law School and Chukyo University Law School from 2005 to 2009.
Keiko Ogura was born on August 4, 1931, in Hiroshima. She was eight years old when she experienced the atomic bombing, 2.4 kilometres from the hypocentre in Ushita-Machi.
A graduate of Hiroshima Jogakuin University, she married Kaoru Okura in 1962. After his passing, she fulfilled his wish and founded Hiroshima Interpreters for Peace in 1984. She has since worked as an interpreter and coordinator. She gave her first testimony in English at the First World Conference of Atomic and Hydrogen Bomb Sufferers, held in New York in 1987. She now shares her experience with around 2,000 people each year. At the 2023 G7 Hiroshima Summit, she shared her hibakusha testimony with world leaders, including Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. In 2014, when Nihon Hidankyo was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, she spoke at the memorial forum in Oslo, Norway.
Andrew Collett AM was admitted as a legal practitioner in South Australia in 1977 and has practised as a barrister since 1986, initially at Johnston Withers and later at Murray Chambers from 1999. He developed a significant practice in personal injury, industrial, Aboriginal, human rights, and administrative law, and has appeared in Federal Court matters in Western Australia and New South Wales.
His commitment to Aboriginal legal rights began in 1973, serving as Executive Secretary of the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement (ALRM) and later as its first solicitor in Port Augusta. He currently lectures on Aboriginal Cultural Heritage and the Law at Flinders University and was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2014 for his services to Aboriginal legal rights.
Professor Jennifer McKay AM is Professor of Business Law at the University of South Australia – Justice and Society, recognised in the 2023 King's Birthday Honours for her service to the law and legal profession. A socio-legal and doctrinal researcher with over 180 publications, she specialises in environmental and natural resources law, with a focus on freshwater, sustainability, and human rights. She has held academic roles at multiple Australian and international universities, served as a part-time Commissioner of the Environment, Resources and Development Court in South Australia for over 25 years, and is currently a finalist in the Women in Law Awards. She is a Fulbright scholar at UC Berkeley and will be attending CoP 30.
Isomi Suzuki is the Managing Partner of Koga & Partners in Tokyo and is admitted to practice in New York. A Fulbright Scholar, he holds an LL.B. from Hitotsubashi University and an LL.M. from UC Berkeley. He has represented victims of wartime violations of international law, served as a UN Compensation Commission Commissioner, and was President of LAWASIA (2013–2015). He currently chairs the JFBA Working Group on International Investment and Arbitration, advises MEXT on Fukushima dispute resolution, and is on Japan’s Panel of Conciliators at ICSID.