A spat between East Timor and Australia that reached the United Nations’ top court, over the seizure of documents concerning a controversial oil and gas treaty between the two countries, is over.

East Timor has dropped its legal case in the International Court of Justice in The Hague against the seizure of confidential documents by Australian police.

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Australia returned the documents without any admission of guilt, Attorney-General George Brandis said in a statement.

The documents were seized during a December 2013 raid on the Canberra office of lawyer Bernard Collaery, who was representing East Timor.

The Attorney-General flagged the backdown at a Senate committee hearing on Wednesday.

Dili has chosen to continue its legal 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.