Court rules legal papers regarding Putin arrest warrant be made public

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President Cyril Ramaphosa says that the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) position that the South African government have to state their position whether or not Russian President Vladimir Putin will be arrested if he comes to South Africa for the BRICS Summit next month, is misguided.

This was revealed in the President’s papers, where he dealt with the confidentiality of his affidavit in the DA’s legal challenge to compel the South African government to arrest Putin if he is in SA.

The High Court in Pretoria, ordered that the answering affidavit, the replying affidavit, the letter from the state attorney of 17 July 2023 to the Applicants attorney, and the heads of argument of all parties in the matter, shall be disclosed without qualification.

Court’s ruling on President Ramaphosa’s affidavit arresting Putin: Canny Maphanga:

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Putin for alleged war crimes and South Africa is expected to host the BRICS Summit in August.

In his affidavit, President Ramaphosa states that the South African government (the respondents in the matter) are obliged in terms of international law to keep the interactions with the ICC on the warrant of arrest against Putin confidential.

In addition, the President states that it would be a breach of the respondents’ obligations to the ICC to disclose such details. He added that other than what the ICC has disclosed, the details of the warrant of arrest, including its nature and effect, are confidential.

Lamola on International Criminal Court, impartiality and universality: