Australia could soon face legal woes once the country's leadership insists on shipping uranium to India, an international law expert suggested on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has made known her intentions to lift the ban of uranium sale to India, an act that according to Australian National University professor Don Rothwell runs in counter with the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone agreement.

As one of the major framers of the pact also known as the Rarotonga Treaty, Canberra, Rothwell said, is duty-bound to uphold the provisions embodied in the regional agreement, which among other discourages the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the South Pacific area.

"If India does not agree to Article III.1 Non-Proliferation Treaty safeguards and Australia were to export uranium to India, Australia would be in violation of its Treaty of Rarotonga obligations," the ANU professor was quoted by The Herald Sun as saying.

Already a luminary in Australia's legal circuit, Rothwell reminded Ms Gillard that her plans would most likely meet legal challenges from countries' belonging to the regional pact.

The Prime Minister had argued that Australia's current nuclear policy is somewhat outdated and any move to rationalize its uranium sale to India will enhance the two nations' diplomatic relations and possibly generate job opportunities for many Australians.

Rothwell, however, noted that New Delhi has adamantly refused to join the international community adhering to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, clearly making the country ineligible for a uranium trade partnership with Australia.

Rothwell found an ally on ICAN director Tim Wright, who stressed that Ms Gillard's proposal was ill-conceived and lacking any legal merits.

"Not only is the sale of uranium to India illegal, it is also highly dangerous given that India is rapidly bolstering its nuclear forces," Wright told the Herald Sun.

Bent on pushing through with the new policy, Ms Gillard called on her Labor colleagues to reconsider the proposal for possible resumption of the uranium trade with India, which was originally implemented by the administration of Liberal Prime Minister John Howard.

Her stance was met by mixed reactions from within the Australian Labor Party, with Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd allowing that he is backing the plan but leaving note at the same time that Ms Gillard failed to fully consult him on the matter.

The Coalition, on the other hand, has hinted their likely support on the issue, which is just in line with Howard's previous arrangement with India, observers said.