Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s team of Cabinet ministers investigating the visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin for the BRICS summit is looking at all options on the table.
Director-general in the Department of International Relations and Co-operation Zane Dangor said once Mashatile has finished his work he will table the report.
President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed the inter-ministerial committee chaired by Mashatile last month to look at options on the table ahead of the visit by Putin.
The International Criminal Court issued a warrant of arrest against Putin.
Dangor, who was briefing members of the portfolio committee on international relations and cooperation this week, said other than the work of Mashatile and his team there are two legal opinions the department has obtained on the implication of the visit by the Russian president.
He said the committee has confirmed that South Africa remained a member of the ICC.
But that committee has more work to do.
One of them was that the warrant of arrest was issued against a third party state and it did not come through the UN Security Council, but the ICC.
“It’s important to emphasise that if you are a state party you automatically waiver immunity,” said Dangor.
But if you are not a State party you are handed over to the ICC through the Security Council.
Dangor said South Africa was looking at a number of issues on the Rome Statutes, including Article 98, which deals with the domestication of the act.
The UK has domesticated the act.
Mashatile’s committee will have to strike a balance between South Africa’s obligations on its domestic laws and international customary law.
“The case with the president of Russia, this is the first time that a third party state has been issued a warrant of arrest where an investigation has not been triggered by the Security Council.
“That means Article 98 of the Rome Statute, which deals with countries’ obligations under international customary law, kicks in and this means that in terms of that third party states not coming through the ICC, but through the Security Council must get a waiver of that person’s immunity from that state.
“In this particular case the waiver of immunity for president Putin will need to come from Russia itself. This is subject to various legal interpretations and this is why this particular committee, chaired by the deputy president, is looking at all those facets,” said Dangor.
He said the Department of International Relations has an internal legal opinion on the matter.
They have also sought another independent legal opinion to they will take the correct action.
“I am sure once the deputy president’s committee is fully engaged with this they will be able to report to you on it,” said Dangor.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
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