East Timor drops legal challenge to Aust

East Timor has dropped its legal challenge against the seizure of confidential documents by Australian authorities.

The documents have been returned in good faith without acknowledgement that Australia had violated East Timor's sovereign rights, Attorney-General George Brandis said in a statement.

Senator Brandis says he is disappointed that Dili had chosen to continue its International Court of Justice challenge against the validity of a 2006 treaty over maritime borders that enables the two nations to share and jointly develop natural resources claimed by both.