Uncle Robbie Thorpe's Genocide Case Against King Charles III Rejected

Aboriginal elder Robbie Thorpe's bid to prosecute King Charles III for alleged genocide has been rejected by Victoria's Court of Appeal, marking his third legal defeat since launching the case in 2023.

The case alleged that the King, along with the Australian government and its institutions, perpetuated genocide by maintaining systems that disadvantage Indigenous people across numerous socio-economic measures.

Legal Hurdles and Future Plans

"Australia is just totally in denial," Mr Thorpe said. "If it wasn't for the acts of terror and the policies of genocide, Australia wouldn't exist."

The Court of Appeal dismissed Mr Thorpe's application to appeal the decision on the basis that it had no real prospect of success.

The primary judge concluded that the senior registrar of the Magistrates' Court acted lawfully … as the charges alleged in the charge-sheet did not disclose an offence known to the law of Victoria.

This leaves the 68-year-old activist with one final domestic option: seeking permission to appeal to the High Court of Australia.

Mr Thorpe said on Monday he did not expect to receive a fair hearing in Australia. After exhausting his options in Australian courts, he said he would take his allegations against the monarch to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Netherlands.

"The International Criminal Court will expose Australia for what it really is — a lying, racist, illegal occupation committing genocide," Mr Thorpe said.

International Jurisdiction and Immunity

The British monarch has common law immunity from all criminal and civil liability in the United Kingdom, a condition that has likely been inherited by Australia.

This immunity will likely complicate any case brought against King Charles III.

Mr Thorpe said his efforts in Australian courts would play a role if the case reached an international jurisdiction.

"We're exhausting the domestic remedies," he said.

"It's accruing all this unwillingness, inability, reluctance to deal with these issues."

"Sooner or later, we'll get a chance in the international court, and this will all be relevant."

The ICC does not recognise head-of-state immunity and has the jurisdiction to prosecute on a charge of genocide.

Mr Thorpe suggested Türkiye might be the country to take the charges to an international court.