More than 100 cases tried before Australia's military court are in question after the High Court ruled the legislation which created the military court is constitutionally invalid.
The charges relate to incidents in August 2005 when former Navy sailor Brian George Lane was alleged to have been photographed placing his genitals on an army sergeant's forehead - a practice the court defined as "teabagging" - while the sergeant was asleep.
Neil James from the Australia Defence Association says the implications are wide and that it is vital the Defence Force has a working justice system.
"What the High Court appears to be saying is that the military cannot have its own military law system," he said."The problem is that any democracy needs to have a disciplinary code for its Defence Force because otherwise you just have an armed rabble, which can become a threat to the democracy itself."
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