The Presidency has welcomed the decision of the Johannesburg High Court ordering that the answering affidavit related to the International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant matter be made public.
“President Ramaphosa was never opposed to making the affidavits public; it was only in compliance with the ICC directive that the Presidency sought to maintain confidentiality on the affidavit,” the Presidency said in a statement on Tuesday.
This comes after President Ramaphosa filed a confidential affidavit in response to an application by the DA seeking a declaratory order to compel the state to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin should he set foot in South Africa ahead of the BRICS Summit next month.
In March, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin, who is expected to attend the BRICS conference in Johannesburg on August 22-23.
South Africa is a signatory to the Rome Statute and continues to campaign for equal and consistent application of international law.
BRICS is a bloc of emerging economies that includes Russia, Brazil, India, China and South Africa.
Source: South African Government News Agency