The Australian Bar Association and the Law Council of Australia gave their support to the resolutions, which among other things aim to “deplore the defiance of the Government of Zimbabwe of its human rights obligations under domestic and international law”.

The resolutions also call for the members and secretariat of the South African Development Community to ensure independent legal observers are permitted to oversee the trials of legal professionals in Zimbabwe who are being persecuted for alleged offences. As well, the resolutions demand that magistrates in Zimbabwe be allowed to adjudicate impartially, without intimidation, on the cases before them.

Both the Law Council and the ABA said they were highly critical of the Zimbabwean Government for its “blatant disregard for the rule of law”.