The case centres on Daniel Snedden, who Croatia has been trying to extradite over alleged war crimes committed during the 1990s conflict when he was the commander of a Serbian paramilitary group.
The Attorney General's Department has been seeking advice whether Mr Snedden - also known as Dragan Vasiljkovic - could be prosecuted in Australia if he's successful in fighting Croatia's extradition bid.
Documents obtained by SBS under Freedom of Information laws show the Department sought legal advice from its Office of International Law about the potential prosecution of Daniel Snedden in Australia.
Emails dating back to 2009 reveal the Department wanted to know if Australia had jurisdiction to prosecute.
One email from the Department's International Crime Cooperation Authority refers to a defamation case brought by Mr Snedden against Nationwide News Ltd, which publishes The Australian.
It says Mr Snedden's loss of the case in the New South Wales Supreme Court "has reignited more interest in whether Mr Vasiljkovic would be prosecuted in Australia in the event that he is not extradited to Croatia."
In a possible reference to the Justice Minister - who handles extradition cases - it adds: "the Minister's Office is requesting a response".
From the released emails it is evident that in January 2010, the Attorney General's Department was still waiting on final advice from the Office of International Law.
There is no indication of when the final advice is expected.
All the documents released to SBS have been heavily redacted, with many pages totally or almost totally blacked out.
The most recent document, from March 2010, involves correspondence with the Australian Federal Police.
The Freedom of Information Office within the Attorney-General's Department has blacked out all but one line, the letterhead and a legal warning at the bottom.
Daniel Snedden has been fighting extradition in Australian courts for around eight years.
The matter is currently before the full bench of the Federal Court.
Mr Snedden denies the allegations against him.
In a statement to SBS, the Attorney General's Department says Croatia has formally requested Australia to extradite Mr Vasiljkovic in order to prosecute him for three war crimes offences.
It adds that the availability of alternative courses of action, including any domestic investigation, does not displace Australia's obligation to consider Croatia's request.
The Department concludes that it would not be appropriate to comment further regarding any investigative action within Australia.
As shown below, the FOI documents obtained by SBS are heavily redacted.
