A new academic centre devoted to all aspects of Australian military law has opened at ANU.

The Australian Centre for Military Law and Justice was launched on 8 May by the Minister for Defence Science and Personnel, Warren Snowdon.

The centre in the ANU College of Law reflects a heightened focus on the military at a time when Australian forces are increasingly being called on to contribute to international peace and security.

"Legal support is a vital element for the conduct of any operation, however it is not merely limited to matters that traditionally fall within the concept of military operational law," Mr Snowdon said.

"Military Justice is not limited to the military discipline system, but also encompasses such issues as the right of members to complain about matters affecting their service and the systems established to facilitate that right."

The principal focus of the Centre will be high quality focused research across the spectrum of military law. The research work of the Centre will complement the postgraduate teaching program for Defence lawyers run by the ANU since 2006.

The inaugural Director of the Centre is Professor Robin Creyke, who also holds the Alumni Chair of Administrative Law at ANU College of Law. She said the Centre will redress a notable absence of academic work in Australia on military law.

"The Centre aims to fill a gap in scholarship caused by a paucity of writing on military law. For a long period the military has been seen as separate from the general community. The origin of authority to manage defence, formerly in the Crown's prerogative powers, may explain in part the special and separate nature of defence service and account for the absence of interest in defence legal scholarship in the wider community," Robin said.

"But that general lack of interest is not matched by an absence of writing and focus on military law and scholarship within Defence itself, nor on popular interest in Australian military history and strategic policy. The Centre hopes to assist in rectifying this omission in relation to that aspect of the military's activities that are affected by its legal rights and obligations."

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