In 2015, South Africa had already refused to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, for whom a warrant had also been issued by the court
In August 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the BRICS summit in Durban, South Africa. By law, this country must execute the arrest warrant for the president of the Russian Federation, Sky News writes.
It is noted that South Africa is one of the 122 countries that have ratified the Rome Statute of the ISS, and therefore has a legal obligation to comply with the judgment of the court in The Hague.
The publication notes that even if the Russian president decides to attend the conference, “the prospect of host country President Cyril Ramaphosa ordering his troops to remove Putin in handcuffs is considered very remote.”
The material recalls that in 2015, South Africa had already refused to arrest the president of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir, for whom a warrant was also issued by the court.
We recall that the Russian human rights activist Mark Feigin explained that the President of Russia Vladimir Putin, for whose arrest the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued a warrant, should be arrested in any country that recognizes the jurisdiction of this court, in particular in any country in Europe.
This policy decision has two main consequences.
The first is that this court will most likely “take over the function of an international court for Ukraine.” The second is that the very act of issuing a warrant for Putin’s arrest sets in motion a whole series of processes.
Translation: BLIC
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